Article - Souther Kung Fu

Viewpoint: Chinese Kung Fu

SOUTHERN ELEGANCE
by Ted Mancuso

Southern Kung Fu styles may be some of the earliest of all forms of Kung Fu...

For more than a century, since the days of the coolies banging away on the U.S. railroads, the Southern Kung Fu styles have been favorites in the Western world. There are reasons historical and topical for this which—no doubt to your relief—I will not broach at this juncture. Instead we want to talk about the character, not the popularity, of these styles.

Though no expert, I have done a bit more than dabble in the Southern hemisphere. Even a sometime fisherman occasionally loses his step and find himself in unexpected depths. And the years and experience have only increased my respect for these particular Southern rapids.

The very structure of Southern Kung Fu is unique. A Southern Kung Fu style is often an amazingly consistent whole. The sets gain much of their beauty and rhythm from repeating, often in every set of the style, phrases and sections that create a powerful resonance. This is true of Northern fists but not as consistently and thoroughly as “in the South”. Styles like Hung Gar and Jow Gar keep borrowing their own refrains until, as you watch the whole system performed, you see the mark of canny design.

Southern sets are more like mosaics or tapestries than portraits or landscapes. There's almost a craftsman-like quality about them, a cabinetmaker's sense of symmetry and motive.Southern sets have other notable features. There is much greater emphasis on bi-lateral actions and this endows the forms with a strange suspense. You do this side then that side but... in the same way or varied? People who appreciate the fugue as a musical form may enjoy Southern Boxing. It's generally slower, too. One reason being the interesting fact that both the “internal” and the “external” training are practiced simultaneously—along with strength training. Talk about multi-tasking.

There are definite themes to Northern Fist. But nowhere in the Kung Fu city is it more evident that the "family" styles like Jow, Li, Mok and other "Gars" (families) all live near each other in neighborly togetherness. Motives like the crossing Butterfly hands not only crop up in the forms a specific style but they run like a red thread though many different styles of Boxing forms. So the slow tempo, strong clean lines, powerful moves, repeated themes, and elegant delivery give Southern forms a distinct style and grace. They aren't flashy but they are beautiful.

Much of this beauty derives from the spirit of the styles. The famous “animal imitation” so often identified with Kung Fu is not hidden in Southern Boxing. It is out in the open, proudly and clearly shown with tiger, dragon, snake and other movements contributing an animalistic verve. This and some less well known aspects enliven Southern Fists with a more magical quality that many of their Northern counterparts. That's right, magical. Many Northern stylists would say “superstitious” but, be that as it may, the shamanic roots which we began to discuss over a decade ago in Kung Fu are more evident and influential in Southern Boxing. It is useful at this point to remind ourselves that many sino-linguists, starting with Karlgren, were quite aware that the indigenous people were continually pushed Southward by the Han race and Chinese, of pre-Han times probably spoke a language and displayed habits more like modern day Cantonese than Mandarin speakers. Keeping this in mind it's hard not to note the ritualism, music, spiritualism, animalism of the Southern styles which, to my mind, is probably far closer to what Kung Fu looked like 2000 or 3000 years ago then the stylized antics of Shaolin “monks”.

This Southern propensity for the mystical, communal and anti-authoritarian is shared with religions throughout the world. As some have said the tension between East and West are really very slight compared to the tension of North and South which has run the length of recorded human history. China is not an exception. The Southern region is a source of unrest, independence and rebellion as it has been for centuries. Secret organizations abound. If we look at a well known as reasonably trasnparent style such as Hung Gar we still see the iconography, cryptology and psychology reflected from close watched political fires. Everything from the salute to the items hanging on the wall have a special if not clandestine meaning. These codes remind us that a plate with a willow design may appear as folk art to one pair of eyes and as a plan to end a dynasty to another. Read this quotation from Michael Harner's “Way of the Shaman” as though reading a description of a Kung Fu style. “.... in dancing their guardian animal spirits, commonly not only make the movements of the power animals, but also the sounds.” Sounds like the vocalizations of a Tiger Crane expert, doesn't it?

The power and speed of Southern Fists are legendary in the true sense of the word. And how often do we recall that the explosion of martial arts during the Twentieh century, especially in Karate. Kenpo and others, was fed in large part from the flowing source of Southern Kung Fu's influence ?

If you would like to see more on the Southern styles of Kung Fu you might drop by the following sections:

DVDs: Southern Fists; Including Hung Gar,, and of course Wing Chun,. Also the Southern/New York hybrid of
New York NanQuan with Tak Wah Eng.

VCDs: We have some unusual Southern styles but parituclarly interesting are examples of Mok Gar , Southern Shaolin and Fujian White Crane, Ying Style, Buddha Branch and others.

In our special DVD-VCD comparison section we have FuJian Crane Boxing, the whole series...

Books: on Hung Gar, Dragon, Choy Lai Fut, Southern Tiger, and more.

Chinese edition Books: A hard to find Southern Mantis, Fujian Dog Boxing, Fujian Fish Boxing, and others.

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*Viewpoint: Chinese Kung Fu*
	SOUTHERN ELEGANCE by Ted Mancuso
Southern Kung Fu styles may be some of the earliest of all forms of Kung Fu...
For more than a century, since the days of the coolies banging away on the U.S. railroads, the Southern Kung Fu styles have been favorites in the Western world. There are reasons historical and topical for this which—no doubt to your relief—I will not broach at this juncture. Instead we want to talk about the character, not the popularity, of these styles. Though no expert, I have done a bit more than dabble in the Southern hemisphere. Even a sometime fisherman occasionally loses his step and find himself in unexpected depths. And the years and experience have only increased my respect for these particular Southern rapids. The very structure of Southern Kung Fu is unique. A Southern Kung Fu style is often an amazingly consistent whole. The sets gain much of their beauty and rhythm from repeating, often in every set of the style, phrases and sections that create a powerful resonance. This is true of Northern fists but not as consistently and thoroughly as “in the South”. Styles like Hung Gar and Jow Gar keep borrowing their own refrains until, as you watch the whole system performed, you see the mark of canny design. Southern sets are more like mosaics or tapestries than portraits or landscapes. There's almost a craftsman-like quality about them, a cabinetmaker's sense of symmetry and motive.Southern sets have other notable features. There is much greater emphasis on bi-lateral actions and this endows the forms with a strange suspense. You do this side then that side but... in the same way or varied? People who appreciate the fugue as a musical form may enjoy Southern Boxing. It's generally slower, too. One reason being the interesting fact that both the “internal” and the “external” training are practiced simultaneously—along with strength training. Talk about multi-tasking. There are definite themes to Northern Fist. But nowhere in the Kung Fu city is it more evident that the "family" styles like Jow, Li, Mok and other "Gars" (families) all live near each other in neighborly togetherness. Motives like the crossing Butterfly hands not only crop up in the forms a specific style but they run like a red thread though many different styles of Boxing forms. So the slow tempo, strong clean lines, powerful moves, repeated themes, and elegant delivery give Southern forms a distinct style and grace. They aren't flashy but they are beautiful. Much of this beauty derives from the spirit of the styles. The famous “animal imitation” so often identified with Kung Fu is not hidden in Southern Boxing. It is out in the open, proudly and clearly shown with tiger, dragon, snake and other movements contributing an animalistic verve. This and some less well known aspects enliven Southern Fists with a more magical quality that many of their Northern counterparts. That's right, magical. Many Northern stylists would say “superstitious” but, be that as it may, the shamanic roots which we began to discuss over a decade ago in Kung Fu are more evident and influential in Southern Boxing. It is useful at this point to remind ourselves that many sino-linguists, starting with Karlgren, were quite aware that the indigenous people were continually pushed Southward by the Han race and Chinese, of pre-Han times probably spoke a language and displayed habits more like modern day Cantonese than Mandarin speakers. Keeping this in mind it's hard not to note the ritualism, music, spiritualism, animalism of the Southern styles which, to my mind, is probably far closer to what Kung Fu looked like 2000 or 3000 years ago then the stylized antics of Shaolin “monks”. This Southern propensity for the mystical, communal and anti-authoritarian is shared with religions throughout the world. As some have said the tension between East and West are really very slight compared to the tension of North and South which has run the length of recorded human history. China is not an exception. The Southern region is a source of unrest, independence and rebellion as it has been for centuries. Secret organizations abound. If we look at a well known as reasonably trasnparent style such as Hung Gar we still see the iconography, cryptology and psychology reflected from close watched political fires. Everything from the salute to the items hanging on the wall have a special if not clandestine meaning. These codes remind us that a plate with a willow design may appear as folk art to one pair of eyes and as a plan to end a dynasty to another. Read this quotation from Michael Harner's “Way of the Shaman” as though reading a description of a Kung Fu style. “.... in dancing their guardian animal spirits, commonly not only make the movements of the power animals, but also the sounds.” Sounds like the vocalizations of a Tiger Crane expert, doesn't it? The power and speed of Southern Fists are legendary in the true sense of the word. And how often do we recall that the explosion of martial arts during the Twentieh century, especially in Karate. Kenpo and others, was fed in large part from the flowing source of Southern Kung Fu's influence ? If you would like to see more on the Southern styles of Kung Fu you might drop by the following sections: DVDs: Southern Fists; Including Hung Gar,, and of course Wing Chun,. Also the Southern/New York hybrid of New York NanQuan with Tak Wah Eng. VCDs: We have some unusual Southern styles but parituclarly interesting are examples of Mok Gar , Southern Shaolin and Fujian White Crane, Ying Style, Buddha Branch and others. In our special DVD-VCD comparison section we have FuJian Crane Boxing, the whole series... Books: on Hung Gar, Dragon, Choy Lai Fut, Southern Tiger, and more. Chinese edition Books: A hard to find Southern Mantis, Fujian Dog Boxing, Fujian Fish Boxing, and others.