Won Hop Loong Chuan
Won Hop Loong Chuan is a style of Chinese kung fu (gongfu). It was a family art, which means that it was primarily passed down from father to son, although there were exceptions to this. In more recent times (19th - 20th centuries), it was also referred to as a "vagabond art", which meant that the practitioners moved around a lot and that there were no large public schools th
at openly taught the art. Most practitioners were not professional martial arts teachers by trade. They worked in a variety of fields, but many of them were known to provide bodyguard services either to royalty or to traveling merchants. There was also no "official name" for the art, so individual practitioners referred to it by different names at different times. The current name was chosen in the 1970's in order to avoid all the confusion of not having a standardized name for the art. Walker, was trained by an Okinawan man named Kushubi. Kushubi's father was Okinawan, but his mother was Chinese. It was through her side of the family that he was introduced to Won Hop Loong Chuan. Kushubi's uncle (his mother's brother) was a senior student in the art, and Kushubi traveled to Southern China to train with him in the early 20th century. Previous to this, Kushubi had spent the early part of his life training in Okinawan Karate. While in China, Kushubi was introduced to his uncle's teacher (who happened to be his uncle's father, and also the head of the style at the time). This man's name was Lao Leong, and he was born around the middle of the 19th century. Eventually, Kushubi began learning from Lao Leong directly and continued to do so until Leong's death. After this, Kushubi inherited the art. He got married and continued to teach for some time. Soon, the Japanese invasion of China came and Kushubi's pregnant wife was killed by the invaders and he himself was put into a foreigner's POW camp. It was here that he met an American, A. Walker, who soon became Kushubi's friend and student.
After the war, A. Walker petitioned to have Kushubi come to the United States. Walker began teaching his son, A.F. Walker, at a young age. When A.F. Walker was old enough, his father sent him to train under Kushubi directly, who was living in California at the time. Until his death in the 1970's, Kushubi continued teaching A.F. Walker and a few other select students. When Kushubi died, he passed the art onto A.F. Walker, who had by this time become his adopted grandson.
Won Hop Loong Chuan is based almost entirely on Daoist philosophies and ideas. Unlike many other Chinese arts, it has no connections to the Shaolin temple, and is not considered to be a Shaolin-derived art. The past practitioners of the art had a tendency to acquire portions of other martial arts and to then incorporate them into their own style. Because of this, art has been described by some as "eclectic". Over the years, Won Hop Loong Chuan acquired portions of other styles. Each acquired portion was evaluated, and if necessary, modified, to fit into the existing curriculum and structure of the art. Because of the slow evolution and careful planning, the art maintained the cohesiveness and consistency found in other more "pure" styles. In addition to this, masters in the art also created their own original forms to fit within the framework of the style. Kushubi also made some modifications to the art before he taught it to A.F. Drawing on his Okinawan background, he modified some of the forms to add more solid power and stability to the stances. Curriculum
- 22 Okinawan Forms
- 28 Core Chinese Forms (300+ total Chinese forms)
- 200 Waza (formalized fighting scenarios)
- 12 Weapon Systems
- 12 Animal Systems
- Chinese Medicine
- Qigong
- Meditation
Pyong Hwa Do
The history of Pyong Hwa Do begins in the mid-19th century in Okinawa. A man from Fujian, China named Lau Leong (known as Ahnan or Ahn in Okinawan) had traveled to Okinawa for a stay of a few years. He mainly stayed near the fishing village of Tomari. Like any martial artist, he was determined to teach what he knew. Lau Leong, being a Daoist, also took the path of least resistance - he modified his martial art to be more like the harder styles that the Okinawans were used to. He did this to keep his teachings more in line with what the Okinawans were used to, since he was only planning on being there for a limited time. After several years, Lau Leong eventually returned to Fujian, but he kept in touch with some of his Okinawan students. As time went on, Leong's students taught what they had learned to others in Okinawa. One of Leong's students, Matsumura, taught Itosu Anko. One of Itosu's students was a young man named Kushubi. Kushubi also had several other teachers in Okinawan, one of the primary ones being Kanryo Hiagonna (who was also known as "Toono"). Eventually, Kushubi decided to travel to China and find the original Chinese art that was the root of what he had been learning. In China, using his familial ties (his father had married Lau Leong's daughter), Kushubi found Lau Leong himself. From Leong, Kushubi began learning the Chinese art that Leong had taught, Won Hop Loong Chuan. When Kushubi came to America years later, he taught A.F. Walker the Okinawan art he learned in addition to teaching him the Chinese art. Kushubi taught it as one complete system, with the Okinawan portion forming the introductory material and the Chinese portion forming the more advanced curriculum. Pyong Hwa Do is the name that A.F. Walker chose to represent the introductory curriculum. Curriculum
- 25 Basic Exercise Patterns
- 17 Forms
- 100 Fighting Techniques
Wu Small Circle Taichi Chuan
The Wu style of taijiquan (t'ai chi ch'uan) was created by a Manchurian named Quan Yu in the 19th century. He later took on the Chinese family name of "Wu" to downplay his Manchurian origins, as Manchurians weren't too popular in China during the Qing dynasty. Therefore, he is also known as Wu Quan Yu. Quan Yu created the Wu style of taijiquan by combining the Yang style he had learned from Yang Lu Chan with concepts from other arts he practiced. Quan Yu worked as a bodyguard in the Imperial palace, so as a result he learned several other styles. Most notably, he was well known as a "wrestler" (this is different from the modern Western sport of wrestling. It is a type of martial art that emphasizes joint locks and throws). The Wu Style Taijiquan was taught to A.F. Walker in the 1960's and 1970's by one of his teacher's friends. This man went by the name of Wu Chen Ik, but he didn't reveal too much about his past. What we do know from what he said is that his grandfather was Quan Yu, and that he had a sister that also taught taijiquan in California. He wasn't even clear whether his father was Wu Jianquan, or if he was a descendant of a different child of Quan Yu's.
It is said that there are as many styles of taijiquan as there are practitioners. As a result, even within the same style one will find many different versions. In particular, the version taught by Wu Chen Ik is somewhat different from the more popular version as taught by Quan Yu's son, Wu Jianquan. Wu Chen Ik claimed that his version was closer to original form of Quan Yu. It is well known that Wu Jianquan made significant changes to his father's form. Wu Chen Ik's version does not include the changes that Wu Jianquan made to the form. The most obvious difference is the angle of the back. Wu Jianquan modified the postures so that the back was leaning forward, which he believed facilitated better flow of energy. Wu Chen Ik's version has the back upright, similar to other taijiquan styles, such as Yang or Chen style, which was probably much closer to what Quan Yu practiced. Other differences between Wu Jianquan's version and Wu Chen Ik's version include some changes in the sequence of movements, as well as some of the names used for the postures. It is known that Wu Jianquan changed several posture names, as documented by his descendants. The Wu Chen Ik form also uses some names that are not used in other empty-hand taijiquan forms, although some of the posture names do show up in the weapon forms of other taijiquan styles. Wu Chen Ik's version of the long form is also somewhat longer than Wu Jianquan's version. Wu Chen Ik taught 3 different forms to A.F. Walker, which he said was the complete curriculum:
- Wu 189 Posture Long Form
- Wu 36 Posture Short Form
- Wu Taiji Jian (Sword Form)
- Although there are other weapons forms present in the Wu Jianquan lineage, it is likely that these came about later and were not created by Quan Yu himself. Shifu James Walters
James Walters is the head instructor of China Lake Martial Arts has been studying martial arts continuously since 1978. James Walters holds a 5th Degree in Won Hop Loong Chuan and the title of Shifu (Instructor) in both Won Hop Loong Chuan and in Wu Small Circle Tai Chi Chuan.
