SHAOLIN DOG BOXING
(Gou Quan)
Dog Boxing
author and ShihFu Chen Zi Fan. |
Naturally
a style known as "Dog Boxing" is going to have at
least one other name. So Dog Boxing is also called by such names as
Shaolin Di Shu Quan (Shaolin Ground Arts Boxing), Shaolin Di Long
(Shaolin Ground Dragon Fighting) and Di Shang Gong Fa Quan (The Skill
of Groundwork).
Many
people consider Dog Boxing to have originated in the Southern Shaolin
Temple. Some say its creator was the famous martial teacher and
nun, Wu Mei. From Wu Mei it was passed to Miao Jin Hua. Miao,
another woman, taught her son: Fang Shi Yu who make a hybrid style
containing Dog Boxing and Hua Quan. After the Southern Shaolin temple
was burned down, Fang did as many others and escaped. He went to Yong
Chun, then Da Tian, then to Guan Yan Shi Temple known at the time
as Zhu Yuan Shi. Fang started teaching at this temple. Thereafter
Dog Boxing became a monk's style for generations. One of its students
was the monk Hui Kai. In his wandering Hui Kai visited FuJian
and Guan Dong. He taught one students Zheng Yi Shan who was a native
of Nan Tai, Lao Ya Zhou county. Zheng did not pass on the art to many
but after an incident force him to flee to Yong Chuan he did teach
one Zhuang Zi Shen.
A
completely different legend traces Dog Boxing to a Bai Lian Si
Temple near the Southern Shaolin Temple. Nuns at White Lotus studied
methods invented by the martial genius Qi Ji Guang and also dog boxing.
This continued into the Qing Dynasty until a nun, by the name of 'mother
Si Yue' learned the art then went to Yong Chuan - Yong Qin
- Fu Qing - and Fu Zhou. She stayed with one family in particular
in Yong Qin and she gave them the art. Once it was in the Chen
family it became a family treasure. It passed from one grandmother
to Chen Yi who killed a bandit and had to flee to Fu Zhou. Women often
did the style - not unlike today in "self defense courses - because
it was considered that women could more easily fight from the ground
- especially those who might have bound feet and lacked normal stability.
What
are the components of Dog Boxing? It contains Rolling, Ground Flowers,
Cross Scissors kicks, Push Scissors kicks, Leg Wrapping, Stomp kicking,
Diving, Dropping, Kneeling, Grappling, Pulling, Leg Hooking and more.
What
is the strategy? To reach retreat to a place of familiarity unfamiliar
to the opponent where you neutralize his advantages and emphasize
yours. .
Though
uncommon in the West Dog Boxing has had a few advocates such as Allen
Lee ShihFu in New York.
