The Origins, Animals and `Iron Training’ of China’s Legendary Mountain Monks

Black Belt Magazine April 1, 2001 & Also Inside Kung Fu April 2001

By: Christina Grant

             For decades the study of kung fu has fascinated people from all walks of life. Movies and television have long depicted the elegant flow and animal precision of the Chinese arts, as well as the mysteries and legends that surround them. Consequently, many Western martial artists have been inspired to head east to study with Buddhist monks and Taoist priests in hopes of obtaining a more intimate grasp of kung fu.                      

             One of the places that have become increasingly popular is the monastery on Hua Shan (mountain) in central China’s Shanxi province, for it is where the hua kung fu system is practiced.

Religious and martial arts pilgrims ascend thousands of steps along a ridge top trail that leads to the east peak of Hua Shan.

             According to renowned instructor Sin Kwang The, currently the head of 111 schools in the United States and a former student of the great Le Chang Ming of the Fukien Temple, the hua system was born on Hua Shan when a handful of Taoist priests became obsessed with divining the secrets of longevity. The priests, who had journeyed to Hua Shan to master the art of meditation, realized after a number of years that although their minds were becoming enlightened, their bodies had become weak. Traveling monks had told them of the rigorous and brutal training embraced by the Shaolin priests and the incredible martial arts skills they had developed. The Hua Shan monks believed that if they too could learn those skills and combine them with meditation, they could complete their quest for longevity. With that in mind, they journeyed to the subsidiary Shaolin temples that were located throughout China, learned all they could and returned to Hua Shan where they founded hua kung fu.

 

             The system continued to develop over the centuries as priests and monks added self-defense techniques and created animal forms. The animals most often depicted in the system are the gibbon (monkey), tiger, leopard, eagle and dragon.         
             "We learn to fight like the animals because of their perfect fighting techniques," Sin Kwang The says. "Since animals fight all of the time for food and self-defense, they are much better fighters than human beings. The techniques they use have to work, or they will die. It is not just a sport for the animal; it is survival." The best way to define the hua system and comprehend its combat advantages is to examine the five animals to learn how each one teaches students to deal with an attack on the street.

             Gibbons are expert at dodging an attack, then launching their own assault from the air or from a crouching position. The hua system teaches that gibbon techniques are especially effective against medium-sized punchers. If such an opponent were to initiate a hand attack, the kung fu stylist would drop to the ground and strike his groin. He might then execute a quick roll and kick the other man’s knees or shins. Once the attacker falls, the kung fu practitioner might opt to jump on his head and claw his eyes and any other vital points that lie within reach.

 

             Tigers use their incredible strength to overcome their prey. Then they use their claws to rip its flesh, attacking with a viciousness that inevitably leads to death. When pitted against an opponent who prefers to punch and kick, the hua kung fu stylist uses his fingertips as claws to grab his opponent’s pressure points. That will cause the chosen spots on the opponent’s body to go numb and lose their ability to function normally. Such a feeling almost always instills fear in the opponent. The hua stylist may then use his fingers to strike vital areas and use his vicious strength and technique to break any part of the body he targets.

 

             Leopards are best known for their persistence. They will relentlessly pursue their prey until they have captured it. Their power comes from their ability to remain loose, relaxed and whip-like. That enables them to generate great speed and power. When a hua kung fu stylist defends himself, he takes control of his adversary as soon as he senses an opening. Once he begins the counterattack, he uses mobility and speed to end the fight almost before it begins.

 

             Eagles attack with their beak, claws and body as they descend on their prey and crush it. Using that knowledge, the hua kung fu stylist may choose to watch his opponent, circling him and avoiding any attacks that come his way. When the opportunity arises, the hua practitioner maneuvers behind the other man, flies into him with a hand or foot strike, and uses his fingertips to hit pressure points, claw the eyes, grab the throat or snap the neck.

 

             Dragons are said to embody the strengths and expertise of all the animals depicted in the Chinese martial arts. They are depicted using their entire body for blocking and striking, as well as for avoiding and attacking. They never get hit because they disappear and reappear like the wind.

 

             "When a kung fu stylist finds himself fighting any opponent, whether it is sparring in a dojo, competing in a tournament or defending himself on the street, if he has embodied the spirit of the dragon he will be able to adapt his movements to all situations whether competitive or life-threatening," says Garry Mullins, a seventh-degree master based in Johnson City, Tennessee, and one of Sin Kwang The’s top students.

Gibbon technique: When two opponents attack, hua kung fu expert Garry Mullins (center) drops before ripping into the groin of one man and breaking the leg of the other.

Tiger technique: The hua kung fu stylist (center) grasps the throat of the first assailant as he blasts a side kick into the Adam’s apple of the second.

Leopard technique: Demonstrating the animal’s versatility, Gary Mullins (right) uses his right hand to attack his opponent’s neck and his left foot to kick the side of his knee.

Eagle technique: To demonstrate how effective an unexpected attack from the air can be, Garry Mullins (center) kicks one opponent in the face while trapping and attacking pressure points on the other.

Dragon technique: The hua kung fu stylist (left) drops to avoid an attack and launches an immediate counterattack to the stomach and throat.

Iron shin: After using the hardened body part to block a hand strike, Gary Mullins (left) attacks the throat and eye of his opponent.

Iron body and iron fist: Hua kung fu training enables the practitioner (left) to withstand a kick to the stomach and attack the throat with a hand strike that can injure the windpipe and dislodge the jaw.

             Because of the superhuman demands the iron training had made of him, Wu Sung had developed shins that could withstand incredible amounts of force. Consequently, the tiger swatted him with its tail, but he did not flinch. The tiger attacked again, and on the third try Wu Sung grabbed its tail and worked his way up the tiger’s body, delivering blow after blow. He then wrapped his legs around the tiger’s neck and delivered 60 iron-hand punches, killing the man-eating beast.

             Another well-known legend tells the story of a student who tried for years to gain admittance to the monastery on Hua Shan. When he was finally accepted, the monks sent him to a lake and instructed him to strike the water. After many years of standing in the lake and repeatedly hitting the liquid, the student became unhappy and disappointed that this seemed to be all the training he would ever receive. He asked to go home to visit his family, and the priests allowed him to depart.

 

             When he arrived, the student’s family was anxious to hear about all he had learned and see what incredible things he could do with his new skills. A great feast was prepared for the student, and throughout the meal everyone kept asking him to recount his secret training and demonstrate what he had been taught. Exasperated, the student stood up, slammed his hand onto the long table that seated the inhabitants of the entire village and shouted that he had learned nothing. The table broke into a thousand pieces, leaving the villagers and the student himself staring in silence. His hands had become like iron.

 

Modern Times

             That type of iron training is still practiced in kung fu schools that teach the hua system. To demonstrate their iron-body and iron-shin abilities, students allow their partners to use boards and metal poles to strike them in the stomach, back, neck and shins. Students who engage in iron-fist training spend hours every day striking water, wood or sand to make their hands like bricks. After each training session, they apply herbal treatments to heal and strengthen.

 

             "This type of discipline trains the body all the way to the bone so that when hit, the student will feel no pain and is no longer vulnerable in that area," says Sin Kwang The. "The student who participates in this type of training learns how to conquer and overcome physical pain and mental anguish. This, in turn, causes him to mentally and physically face, overcome and conquer all of the difficulties and problems of life."

 

Kung Fu Quest

 

             To study with the monks of Hua Shan, you must first fly to Beijing. Then you must make your way (22 hours by train) to Xian, a popular tourist destination and home of the famed terracotta soldiers that date from around the third century B.C.      

             From Xian, you can board a bus or train to cover the remaining 75 miles to the base of the mountain. There, you have the option of climbing a seemingly endless flight of stairs or taking a lift halfway up. Either way, you will eventually arrive at the lift terminus; from there, it is a five-hour hike along a narrow stone path as you traverse the four peaks of Hua Shan to arrive at the 7,200-foot summit.

 

Black Belt Magazine April 1, 2001

By: Christina Grant

Legends of Iron

 

             Learning how to execute the self-defense techniques and adopt the mind-sets of the five animals are but part of the reason students seek knowledge of hua kung fu. What is perhaps even more valuable are its secrets of iron-body, iron-shin and iron-fist training.

             Many legends have been passed down through the centuries heralding the incredible skills learned through this iron training. One such story is the legend of Wu Sung and the 900-pound tiger.

 

             During the 11th century, after undergoing the harsh and brutal iron training of Hua Shan, a man named Wu Sung began his trek home. On the way, he was attacked by a vicious 900-pound tiger that was responsible for a killing rampage. It was known for using its tail to break the shins of its prey, then using its claws to rip its victims to pieces before devouring the remains. That modus operandi failed, however, when the tiger confronted Wu Sung.

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