Wu Zu Quan
Wu Zu Quan ( Ngo Cho Kun )
Martial Art of the Five Ancestors
There is the Martial Art of the Five Ancestors. The hard and the soft have their respektive advantages, but all the many branches boil down to the External system which aims at attack, or the Internal system which aims at the art of hard and soft combined.
Beginning with Bodhidharma and the subsequent teachings of Tai-Zu followed by Luohan, the Monkey and other succeeding teachers who had become masters in their own right and during their times, the art was further improved and extended by the White Crane Master during the last Manchu Dynasty.
Those who learn and practise the art know that "practice makes perfect". The body has 36 bone joints and 72 bone sockets which play an important part in the use of strength and breathing. Each has its special role and must not be confused. Talking about the five extremities; the top of the head should be level and upright, the torso should be perpendicular, the teeth should be held open like the cockerel crowing, the voice should roar like a tiger's, the mouth should be open like that of the God of Learning Kui Sing, eyes bright like the fish's eyes, the tongue should be held to the roof of the mouth, nose like the lion's, ear should be sensitive to the whisper of the wind, and eyes look in all directions. The arm has 3 joints for the use of strength: the wrist, the elbow and the shoulder. The hand moves at the wrist like the dragon playing with water and the tiger washing its claws, the shoulder should slope down and the elbows held close to the body. Inside the body should be tense like iron, but the outside should relax and be soft like wool. The body should move freely like a wheel and the abdomen should be like a steel wall. In front lift ihe bladder and the hypogastrium, and hold out the chest. Behind, the buttocks should sink, the waist muscle should be strained and the coccyx should point straight down. Stability is thus established and mobility is achieved.
The leg has also 3 joints for the execution of strength: the ankle, the knee and the hip. The front muscles are tensed upwards, and the rear muscles are tensed down, the hip joint should be held in and the knee should be kept open. With the five fingers held together and the centre of the palm tensed inwards, the posture will be in equilibrium and every step will produce a root in the ground. Such a position is like a steel wall and movements will follow what is desired by the mind.
In actual frontal combat, there is the left and the right. Frontal attack must be broken from the side, and attack from the side must be broken from the front. If a "bridge" has been established, cross the "bridge". If there is no bridge try and establish one. When a man is lured across the bridge, destroy the "bridge". If, you know yourself, you win, otherwise you lose.
Every step has an answer. lf you are prepared to give way, do not raise your hand. lf you raise your hand, do not give way. In an emergency, do not treat the situation like child's play. Movements should be like lightning and strength should be executed like a chopper cutting vegetables. To be strong and brave is not as good as soft and yielding. To show your prowess is not as good as benevolence and politeness. Only is the teaching of ancient sages which should be followed by all.
Martial Art of the Five Ancestors
There is the Martial Art of the Five Ancestors. The hard and the soft have their respektive advantages, but all the many branches boil down to the External system which aims at attack, or the Internal system which aims at the art of hard and soft combined.
Beginning with Bodhidharma and the subsequent teachings of Tai-Zu followed by Luohan, the Monkey and other succeeding teachers who had become masters in their own right and during their times, the art was further improved and extended by the White Crane Master during the last Manchu Dynasty.
Those who learn and practise the art know that "practice makes perfect". The body has 36 bone joints and 72 bone sockets which play an important part in the use of strength and breathing. Each has its special role and must not be confused. Talking about the five extremities; the top of the head should be level and upright, the torso should be perpendicular, the teeth should be held open like the cockerel crowing, the voice should roar like a tiger's, the mouth should be open like that of the God of Learning Kui Sing, eyes bright like the fish's eyes, the tongue should be held to the roof of the mouth, nose like the lion's, ear should be sensitive to the whisper of the wind, and eyes look in all directions. The arm has 3 joints for the use of strength: the wrist, the elbow and the shoulder. The hand moves at the wrist like the dragon playing with water and the tiger washing its claws, the shoulder should slope down and the elbows held close to the body. Inside the body should be tense like iron, but the outside should relax and be soft like wool. The body should move freely like a wheel and the abdomen should be like a steel wall. In front lift ihe bladder and the hypogastrium, and hold out the chest. Behind, the buttocks should sink, the waist muscle should be strained and the coccyx should point straight down. Stability is thus established and mobility is achieved.
The leg has also 3 joints for the execution of strength: the ankle, the knee and the hip. The front muscles are tensed upwards, and the rear muscles are tensed down, the hip joint should be held in and the knee should be kept open. With the five fingers held together and the centre of the palm tensed inwards, the posture will be in equilibrium and every step will produce a root in the ground. Such a position is like a steel wall and movements will follow what is desired by the mind.
In actual frontal combat, there is the left and the right. Frontal attack must be broken from the side, and attack from the side must be broken from the front. If a "bridge" has been established, cross the "bridge". If there is no bridge try and establish one. When a man is lured across the bridge, destroy the "bridge". If, you know yourself, you win, otherwise you lose.
Every step has an answer. lf you are prepared to give way, do not raise your hand. lf you raise your hand, do not give way. In an emergency, do not treat the situation like child's play. Movements should be like lightning and strength should be executed like a chopper cutting vegetables. To be strong and brave is not as good as soft and yielding. To show your prowess is not as good as benevolence and politeness. Only is the teaching of ancient sages which should be followed by all.
