Many Long Fist styles use Tan Tui, commonly translated as Springing Leg, as the gateway, or Men Hu (門戶), in the Northern Long Fist Styles of Gong Fu, to building a foundation for more advanced training. The subject of this post is the Shi Er Lu Tan Tui (十二路潭腿) – 12 Rows Springing Leg, and…
In the early 1980s, during a visit to New York City, I went to lunch with Master William C.C. Chen at a restaurant in Chinatown. When I poured tea for Master Chen, he tapped his index and middle fingers on the table. Since I had never seen the gesture before, I wondered about its meaning….
I have been studying and practicing Ying Zhao Fan Zi (鷹爪翻子) for more than 40 years. My journey in the style began first with Sifu Benson Lee and later continued with Grandmaster Shum Yee Leung (岑譽亮, 1933-2025) – Cen Yuliang in Pinyin. Grandmaster Shum called his school Ying Jow Pai (鷹爪派), Eagle Claw System, and…
Liuhe Bafa (六合八法), or Six Harmonies Eight Methods, is an abbreviated name for the style passed down by Wu Yihui, who referred to the art as Hua Yue Xin Yi Liu He Ba Fa Quan (華岳心意六合八法拳). In English, this translates as the Heart/Mind Six Harmonies Eight Methods from Hua Mountain Style. Today, especially in the…
The adage “Mu Jing Xin Ji (目睛心及),” which means “See it with your eyes and feel it with your heart,” is an expression often used in Chinese art and calligraphy. In my view, this idea can certainly be applied to martial arts. The literal English translation of “Xin” (心) is “Heart,” which in Western medical…
Eagle Claw is one of the oldest and most famous Chinese martial arts systems of Northern China. Please give us an account of the system’s origins and background. The Eagle Claw system is a Northern Chinese martial arts style. It originated during the Song Dynasty (宋代 960-1279) and was made famous by General Yue Fei…
Zheng Manqing (鄭曼青, 1902–1975), also written as Cheng Man-ch’ing, was born in 1902 in Yongjia (present-day Wenzhou) in Zhejiang Province, China. Known as the Master of Five Excellences, he was highly accomplished in Calligraphy, Poetry, the Chinese Classics, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Tai Chi Chuan (Taiji Quan). A college professor, he became known to his Tai Chi students as Professor…
The posts on this Blog reflect the knowledge I have received from my teachers, and the volumes of information I have accumulated while doing research and conducting interviews with many masters, during the years of publishing the Wu Gong Journal and the Journal of Chinese Martial Arts. All the material published on this Blog is copyrighted. — Nick Scrima
