Interview with Grandmaster Leung Shum

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 (岳飛 1103-1142), a great hero in China’s ancient history. Yue Fei taught his soldiers 108 techniques that were known as Yi Ling Ba Qinna Shou (一零八擒拿手對拆)– 108 Eagle Claw Locking Hand. With these techniques, Yue Fei’s army was able to defeat the Mongolian soldiers on many occasions. However, Yue Fei was betrayed to Emperor Gaozong (高宗) by the Prime Minister, Qin Hui (秦檜), and shortly after being recalled from his military post, he was executed. After his death, many of the soldiers left the army and dispersed, taking the 108 techniques with them.

A monk named Li Quan (丽泉僧) was a great master of Fan Zi (翻子拳). He incorporated the jumping, kicking, and tumbling of the Fan Zi style with the locking techniques of Eagle Claw, making a more powerful and complete fighting system known as Ying Zhao Fanzi Quan (鷹爪翻子拳).

The next significant person in the history of the Eagle Claw style was Dao Ji (道濟僧), who taught Fa Cheng (法成僧). He in turn taught Liu Shijun (劉仕俊), who passed the system on to his nephew Liu Chengyou (劉成有), who taught his third son Liu Qiwen (劉啟文) and his sister’s son Chen Zizheng (陈子正 1878-1933).

[Note: The character 僧 – Seng, means monk.]

Chen Zizheng was a formidable fighter who never had to use more than three techniques to defeat an opponent. He became known as the Eagle Claw King. He was invited to teach at the Jin Wu Tui Hui (精武体育会) – Jin Wu Association, in Shanghai. Later, other Jin Wu branches were established; one was in Hong Kong where Liu Fameng (劉法孟1902-1964) propagated the style. My teacher, Wu Huinong (吳惠農), was a senior disciple of Liu Fameng. I learned from him for 20 years and brought the style to the United States in 1972.

What are some of the characteristics that make Eagle Claw different from other styles?

The movements look much the same as in other Northern styles, but the claw is different. For example, in Praying Mantis and Tiger Claw styles, the hand is used, but they form it and use it differently. The special thing in Eagle Claw is the catching. You build strong fingers. After you catch, you control the opponent. Then you can do any technique you want. You can go for pressure points. Some other styles that use pressure points got them from Eagle Claw.

Lin Quanand Xing Quan are among the core forms of Eagle Claw. They are unusually long and complex. Please discuss the origins and importance of these forms.

These forms are pure Eagle Claw. Lin Quan (連拳)– Linking Form, is the “Mother Form,” containing 50 rows, with different techniques in each row. It is like the dictionary of Eagle Claw: different techniques, different Qi applications, and different breathing. Xing Quan (行拳) – Walking Form, is the “Father Form” containing 10 rows. Each row has a minimum of 15 movements, and each movement is useful for locking, hitting, or sweeping. This is an excellent form for fighting.

The Eagle Claw system has many other forms. Specific techniques occur several times within each form. What is the significance of this?

In all Gong Fu systems, techniques repeat in the forms. For example, in Taiji, Single Whip is repeated several times. The techniques are repeated for different reasons: a certain technique has good applications or perhaps it trains a certain skill. In Eagle Claw, some clawing techniques are common in many forms but then this is the heart of the system.

Taming the Tiger Fist is an advanced Eagle Claw form that develops proper breathing methods. Please describe this for us.

I am not sure if this is an original Eagle Claw form. I saw a demonstration of this form at the Singapore Jing Wu Association by someone who did not do Eagle Claw. He had no name for the form. It looked the same as our form although some of the actions were different.

Taming the Tiger Fist (伏虎拳) – Fu Hu Quan,is easy to learn but hard to master. From it we learn coordination between hard and soft energy, up and down, fast and slow, exhaling and inhaling. If you practice the form for a long time, your body changes. Hand and chest muscles, as well as internal organs, become very strong, and the mind becomes clear. A clear mind allows you to make quick judgments in fighting.

Another important aspect of Eagle Claw is the practice of the 108 locking techniques. What is the significance of their practice?

There are 108 different kinds of locks. For example, the 108 locks contain 10 different kinds of elbow locks, 10 different kinds of wrist locks, and so on. Each of these 10 is an example or a foundation that can be built upon to create many variations. Originally there was no set order for learning the locks, so they were very hard to remember. My Shifu kept a big notebook with all the locks, and when he taught them, he numbered 10 locks for each joint.

Three techniques were taught with every lock so that it could be used effectively for fighting. So far, I have only taught 80 of the 108. The 20 remaining are very gymnastic and hard to learn; mostly head and waist locks. The last 8 are death locks and I will only teach them to someone who is proven to be the right person, someone who will not misuse or abuse them because these locks can only be used for matters of life and death.

Because of the nature of Eagle Claw, it is necessary to develop finger, hand, and wrist strength. Please discuss some of the training methods.

Ying Zhao Gong (鷹爪功): First, Shou Gong Fa (hand work). Stand in a horse stance with arms extended to the sides at shoulder height. Legs, arms, and fingers must be made strong. Breathe naturally and focus the mind on the fingers. The Qi flows out to the fingertips and makes the finger bones strong. Stand like this for five minutes.

Eagle Claw Push-ups. Standing with feet together, place the fingertips on the floor and walk the hands out in eight steps, do two fingertip push-ups, and walk the hands back in eight steps. Stand and shake the hands. This is also called “lively finger” training. Shaking the hands is important because if you don’t do this, the blood vessels will die. This exercise makes the fingers thicker and more muscular. Repeat at least 10 times.

Another conditioning exercise is slapping with the back of the fingers, then with the front of the fingers, then chopping with the fingertips on a sandbag. This makes the skin tough.

Palm training can be done by chopping the bag with the hand. This conditions the side of the hand and also each finger because each finger strikes into another finger during the exercise. After, always shake the fingers. That is the secret.

Wrist conditioning is also important. You must know how to get loose when someone has grabbed you. Making circles using a staff is a good way to train. Also, you can work with a partner; you catch, then they catch, and repeat.

The Eagle Claw curriculum emphasizes training with many weapons. What is the significance of weapons practice?

The weapons train different aspects of Gong Fu. In every weapon, the foundation is different, and they use different energy. Most weapons are good for the wrist.

The dagger develops the wrist and is good for eye focus and mind training. The sword should be like a swimming dragon. It develops snapping power for pressing points. The arm follows the wrist; you must make the arm and shoulder relax.

The saberis hard and good for blocking. The waist, wrist, and whole upper body are important. Saber flowers are designed to block arrows. It is said of the flowers that water could be thrown at you, and you wouldn’t get wet. The saber was not a gentleman’s weapon but was more often used by soldiers and thieves.

The spear is good for the wrist and waist. It uses pressing power and develops focus and accuracy. It is said that “The spear goes in, and blood comes out.”

For working with the chain or the 3-sectional staff, the body must not be tense, or you can get hurt. The Guandao develops controlling power and builds the waist, arm, and hand.

There are two main types of staff: southern and northern. Power comes from the shoulder, forearm, wrist, and waist. It develops coordination of stepping and striking. It may look easy, but it is not. One of the great master’s methods of teaching accuracy with the staff was to hit olive pits on the ground. The pit had to be struck with the right precision so that it split and did not fly away.

The type of weapon to train should be determined by the practitioner’s body type. A short person should not go for the Guandao. Tall people should use long weapons; short people short weapons; heavy people heavy weapons. In general, the saber is considered the easiest, followed by staff, then spear.

Which weapon is Eagle Claw best known for, and why?

Spear. This is what Eagle Claw is famous for. Nearly every fighting form with weapons is for fighting against a spear. The double-headed spear is used, too, but this is only a single form. There are no two-person double-headed spear forms.

You have been training in martial arts for many decades. What changes have you seen during this time?

When I was a young boy, my Shifu talked to my father about beginning my training. I didn’t even know what Gong Fu was. When I began training, I learned only two stances: horse stance and bow-and-arrow stance. For hand work, only the double punch. No kicking in the first year. Long ago, Gong Fu was taught slowly. You were made to work on only one or two things until they were very good. Now it is different. People want to learn a great deal fast.

In Hong Kong there is a man who worked on Tan Tui (彈腿) for 40 years, and nothing else. He is the Tan Tui King. Everything in his Tan Tui is perfect. He even fights and wins with this.

Even 50 years ago, learning was based on quality, not quantity. My Shifu did not teach fighting because the government did not allow it. But I had an uncle in the police so if I fought in the street and got caught, my uncle would take care of everything.

With the Bruce Lee films and his no-form system, a lot of people went to learn from him. Then a lot of new systems came about. Teaching has become a big business. Some teachers make up their own systems, put them on videos, and people buy them. A lot of people learn a little bit, make up the rest, and then start teaching to make money. They don’t care about good Gong Fu or being a good Shifu. People are just willing to pay for whatever these people offer.

What was the relationship between teacher and students in those days, compared to now?

In the old days it was not commercial. If the Shifu liked you, you could be a student. If he didn’t like you, then you couldn’t be a student for any amount of money. And the Shifu tested the student to see if he really wanted to learn. The Shifu supported the student entirely, and then when the Shifu was old and dying, the student cared for him.

There is a saying, “Yi ri wei shi zhong shen wei fu.” If for one day he is your Shifu, then the whole life he is like your father.

The student never argued, always said yes, and always respected the Shifu. It was like an apprenticeship.

Now it is different. Shifus are teaching for a living. It is very commercial. You pay your monthly fee, say $100, and then learn $100 worth of forms. Nowadays, if a student misses a class, he wants to know if he can deduct the price of the class from his payment! How can you ask this of your Shifu? Also, inside the school the people may show respect, but then they get outside the school and have bad things to say about you.

In the old days there was only one kind of student. Now there are three, but for me everyone is the same.

(1) Ke ren (客人) – Customer. This is the type who comes for a week, or watches one class, and then quits. [Note: Ke ren 客人 means “visitor.”]

(2) Tudi (徒弟) -Regular Student. This type of student is not special and wouldn’t be missed if he left.

(3) Ru Shi Di Zi (入室弟子) – Go Into the Family (Initiated or Inner Door Disciple). If you have no money, I will support, feed, and take care of you. If you are rich and I am poor, you do the same for me. Shifus would have a Bai Shi (拜師) – Discipleship Ceremony, for this type of student where there are witnesses and the student bows three times to the Shifu, and then the student presents the Shifu with a symbolic Hong Bao (紅包) – Red Envelope.

[Note: I have changed the order of the three types of disciples from how it appeared in the original interview, and I have added Chinese characters.]

What have been your biggest disappointments and greatest rewards?

Being a Gong Fu teacher is not easy. It is a reward if you can certify just one student who is good. Most students only make you sick. In my life in teaching Gong Fu, I have been lucky. I still have students who have been with me for 20 years. Why are they still with me? They say, “Shifu, you are like my father; this is like my family.” Some say that I am friendly and easy to talk to. But sometimes I yell at somebody, and they quit. In 28 years, I have met a lot of strange people.

Feeling as you do, if you had the chance to do it over again, would you still teach Gong Fu?

Life in the martial arts is too hard. It is like the lack of cooperation that causes people to get divorced after only a few years of marriage. After spending my whole life in Gong Fu, I still can’t make a good living. Even my son doesn’t want to practice anymore because there is no good money to be made. He wants to try another business. But I don’t like it that people do it only for the money, either. I don’t like to trick people. Sometimes someone accidentally overpays, and I always give it back.

Do I have any regrets? River water keeps moving and stays fresh. In a small lake the water doesn’t move and smells bad. Gong Fu is the same. I want to help students. I don’t want to get stagnant. I don’t want to be a small lake. I want to be a river.

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[Note: This interview with Grandmaster Leung Shum was first published in the Wu Gong Journal which published in the 1996 July/August Issue. The interview was re-published in the Fall 2000 issue of the Journal of Chinese Martial Arts. I was publisher and editor for both journals. Yee Leung Shum (岑譽亮 1933-2025) – Cen Yuliang in Pinyin, passed away July 4, 2025. Since the Journals are now out of print, I am publishing the interview on our school Blog to honor my teacher’s memory and to share it with my students and anyone else interested in Eagle Claw. I hope you find it helpful and inspiring.

Except for some light editing for style, I have not changed the interview as it originally appearedexcept that I have highlighted some names and added dates and Pinyin spelling for forms, places and names. To my knowledge, I was the first to use Pinyin in print for an article on Eagle Claw; earlier published references to the Eagle Claw system largely used Cantonese.]