LIU HE BA FA (Water Boxing)

LHBF is often known as the "fourth" internal style after Tai Chi, Xing Yi and BaGua. Of course, as we have often said, since there are no internal styles a fourth member is meaningless. Nonetheless LHBF is a traditional and interesting art of great serenity and beauty. This was the original "water boxing" developed during the Sung Dynasty when martial arts in China highly promoted and researched. A strange story: Taoist sage Chen Tuan created the style but had no successors. He ended his life in isolation. Centuries later Lee Deng-Feng, a scholar and martial artist of genuis, searched out the writings and developed LHBF as it has come down to us.

Other LiuHeBaFa information of interest

KL004 LIU HE BA FA: Five Character Secrets
by Lee Deng-Feng (ed. Paul Dillon)

Quantity  
$18.95, 152 pages, Softbound,

This book, newly re-published, is a compendium of Lee's writings which he did pass on. The book is comprised of classical five word poems or aphorisms. There are translated both word-by-word and contextually then commentary is added by Paul Dillon. The sayings are philosophical-martial with much emphasis on paradox.

The reader should remember that, unlike present day, there were very few writings on the martial arts in previous centuries. This manuscript represents not only the core of the LHBF system but, like the Tai Chi Classics, one of the few documents on the practice of Chinese martial arts. Being composed of 134 five-word poems it only constitutes 670 words of source material with phrases such as "Collect your pearls and jades, but keep them all concealed. (Yun Tsang Jie Zhu Yu)." Many sections sound a great deal like the Tai Chi Classics and LHBF definitely precedes the development of Tai Chi. Dillon's commentary is helpful and he rarely tries to interpose excessive opinions. Most of the saying, as in the case of the Tai Chi Classics, could be equally applied to any Chinese martial art. For the LHBF student or fan this is an essential text. For the collector of martial historical documents this might even be just as rewarding.