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Shaolin Kungfu is often classified into Northern Shaolin and
Southern Shaolin. Northern Shaolin is the style of kungfu developed in the n orthern
Shaolin Monastery in Henan Province of China, and Southern Shaolin in the southern Shaolin
Monastery in Fujian Province.
The southern Shaolin Monastery was built during the Ming Dynasty by imperial decree. When
the Ming Dynasty was overthrown by the Qing, many Ming royalists rallied round the
southern Monastery to gather support for the restoration of the Ming. Hence, while the
normal greetin g in the northern Monastery was clasping of both palms as in prayer, that
in the southern Monastery was bringing the right fist towards the left palm in front of
the chest. The right fist resembles the Chinese character for "sun" and the left
palm for "moon", the combination of which is the Chinese character for
"Ming".
The Qing emperor Yong Zheng infiltrated into the southern Shaolin Mon astery as a monk to
learn Shaolin Kungfu.. Later he dispatched the Qing army, with the help of Lama monks from
Tibet, to raze the southern Monastery to the ground. Today the Chinese government has
erected a stone tablet to indicate where the former site of the southern Shaolin Mon
astery was.
Some Shaolin masters escaped the inferno, and fled to Guangdong, which became the
stronghold where many Southern Shaolin styles developed. To avoid the attention of the
Qiing government, these masters did not use the term "Shaolin". The styles of
kungfu they taught were called after the masters' surnames or after their characteristic
forms. The five famous styles that took the masters' surnames were Hoong Ka, Lau Ka, Choy
Ka, Li Ka and Mok Ka, "Ka" being the Cantonese (Guangdong) dialect for
"family". The styles that were named after their characteristic forms were
Dragon Style Kungfu , Black Tiger Kungfu and White Crane Kungfu. Later, Choy-Li-Fatt
Kungfu was named as a result of a combin ation of three styles -- Choy Ka, Li Ka and Fatt
Ka (which means Buddha Style); and Wing Choon Kungfu after the founder, Yim Wing Choon.
There is a Chinese saying which says "Southern fists, northern kicks". It means
that Southern Shaolin Kungfu is well known for its hand techn iques, while Northern
Shaolin Kungfu for its kicks.. Another discernable difference is Northern Shaolin is
flowing and elegant in its movement, whereas Southern Shaolin is stable and powerful.
The specialization of hand techniques and kicking techniques between N orthern and
Southern Shaolin was mainly due to environmental factors. Wide, open plains in northern
China encouraged the frequent use of kicks in combat; but in southern China where
buildings were close together, hand techniques were favoured. Nevertheless, one must not
be misled to think that hand techniques are not important in Northern Shaolin, and kicks
are not important in Southern Shaolin. In fact, there is a greater variety of kicks in
Southern Shaolin than in other martial arts generally known for their kicking attacks like
Taekwondo and Kick Boxing.
The range of hand techniques in Southern Shaolin Kungfu is extensive an d profound. While
most other martial arts employ mainly the fist and sometimes the palm, Southern Shaolin
Kungfu employs more than 15 different hand forms, such as the Tiger Claw, the Leopard
Punch, the Phoenix Eye, the Crane Beak, the Praying Mantis Hand, and the Monkey Paw .
Regarding the clenched fist, while most other martial arts use it mainly for a thrust
punch, in Southern Shaolin Kungfu the same fist can be used in more than a dozen ways,
such as chopping, sweeping, whippin g, swinging and hanging.
Why does Southern Shaolin Kungfu employ so many different hand forms in so many different
ways? This is because of various technical, tactical or strategical advantages. For
example, if you use a hand techn ique to strike an opponent's throat, a leopard punch is
more advantageous than a clenched fist. If you wish to use the tactic of "sounding
the east an d striking the west", which in simple language means distracting your
opponent with feign moves before an actual attack, using a hanging fist on his face before
executing a a low kick is more deceptive than using an ordinary thrust punch. If you
employ the strategy of "using minimum force against maximum strength" against a
bigger, physically stronger opponent, using a Monkey Paw to deflect the opponent's strikes
is more advantageous than blocking with a stiffen arm.
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