Monkey Kung Fu
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| Monkey Kung Fu | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Tai Shing Pek Kwar, Hou Quan, Tai Sheng Men, Kou-ken, Tai Sing Pop Gar Mun, Monkey Boxing |
| Style | Acrobatic, Kicking, Punching, Grappling |
| Country of origin |  China |
| Creator | Kau Sze (寇四) |
| Famous practitioners | Grandmaster Chan Sau Chung (Monkey King) |
| Olympic Sport | No |
Monkey Kung Fu (猴拳) is a Chinese martial art where the movements imitate monkeys or apes in fighting. One of the more acrobatic kung fu styles, movements often include falling, lunging, grabbing, light art jumping, and tumbling. The staff features prominently in its weapons training, with practitioners using it for attack, defense, and even climbing it like a pole[1] to gain height in combat. The flamboyant movements and sometimes comic actions of the monkey style has made it a popular subject in Hong Kong martial arts movies.
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[edit] Origins
[edit] Hou Quan
- Hou Quan (猴 拳), literally 'Monkey's Fist' or 'Monkey Boxing', is recorded in part as early as the Han Dynasty(206 BC–AD 220) where it was performed as a part of the Mi Hou Wu dance in the Emperor's court.[2] Hou Quan was less focused on Monkey mimicking than later styles, and may have been an elaboration of monkey techniques from Tai Chi Quan, with esoteric names such as 'White Monkey Exits the Cave', or 'Frightened Monkey Steals the Peach'.
- Hou Quan may have contibuted to other styles as well. For example, Wang Lang, the 17th century founder of Northern Praying Mantis Boxing (tanglang quan), was said to have borrowed the footwork of the Monkey style to complement the extremely fast handwork of Praying Mantis Kung Fu.[3]
[edit] Tai Sheng Men
- Tai Sheng Men, or Monkey Kung Fu, was developed near the end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911)by a fighter named Kau Sze from a small village in Northern China. Legend states that while serving a sentence in prison, he observed a group of monkeys from his cell. As he studied their movements and mannerisms, he found that they combined well with his own Tei Tong style. While exact circumstances of Kau Sze's inspiration remain legend, upon his release he developed his new style of fighting and dubbed it 'Tai Sheng Men' (Great Sage) in honor of the Monkey King Sun Wukong in the Buddhist tale Journey to the West.
[edit] Pek Kwar
- Pek Kwar Kung Fu dates back to the Ming Dynasty some time around 1500.It was widely taught in the army because it is practical, direct and powerful. Pek Kwar concentrates on upper body, forearm, fist, low stance training and total body co-ordination. "Pek" means "chopping or downward arm or fist attack" and "Kwar" means "swinging or upward arm or fist attack," in Chinese. Loosely translated it means "axe fist".
[edit] Tai Sheng Pek Kwar
- Tai Sheng Pek Kwar (大聖劈掛門) was developed by Kau Sze's student, Ken Tak Hoi. Already schooled in the art of Pek Kwar (Axe Hand), Ken found that it worked well in conjunction with Tai Sheng techniques. After his years of studying with Kau Sze, Sigung Ken Tak Hoi then combined the styles to the more modern Tai Sheng Pek Kwar studied today.
[edit] Techniques
There are six variations of monkey kung fu developed as part of the Tai Sheng Men system, and still utilized in the later Tai Sheng Pek Kwar system (although the Crafty monkey variation described below has been absorbed into the Lost monkey curriculum in Tai Shing Pek Kwar and Bak Si Lum among others, hence there are only five variations listed, in these systems):
- Drunken Monkey uses a lot of throat, eye and groin strikes as well as tumbling and falling techniques. It incorporates a lot of false steps to give the appearance it is defenseless and uses a lot of off balance strikes. The practitioner waddles, takes very faltering steps and sometimes fall to the ground and lies prone while waiting the opponent to approach at which time a devastating attack is launched at the knees or groin areas of the opponent.
- Stone Monkey is a "physical" style. The practitioner trains up his body to exchange blows with the opponent - Stone Monkey uses the monkey's Iron body method. It will leave an area exposed on its body for you to attack, so it can attack a more vital spot on your body.
- Lost Monkey feigns a lot. He gives the appearance of being lost and confused to deceive the opponent into underestimating his abilities, and he retaliates when least expected. The hands and footwork change and flow from each other at will. All monkeys are sociable animals and so they live in troops or family groups. They are also very territorial by nature and so when they wander into the territory of another troop there is normally a fight possibly resulting in death to the trespassers. This technique incorporates the fear, nervousness and mischief of a monkey who has wandered into a neighboring territory, in that it attempts to pick and eat as many fruits and insects as can be found in the new territory as is possible while nervously looking around before scurrying back to its own home range.
- Standing Monkey or Tall Monkey is a relatively conventional monkey that likes to keep an upright position and avoid tumbling around. This style is more suited for tall people. Tall monkey likes to climb body limbs to make attacks at pressure points. It is a long range style.
- Crafty monkey is very deceptive, it uses different faked emotions to lure its opponent into attacking. By pretending to be scared for example it lulls the opponent into a false sense of security and waits for the opponents guard to be down, then suddenly attacks when not expected. This variation is not listed in the Tai Shing Pek Kwar system, instead it appears to have been absorbed into the Lost Monkey curriculum.
- Wooden Monkey is a serious, angry monkey that attacks and defends with ferocity. The attitude of this monkey is more serious, and its movements are noticeably less light than the other monkeys. Wood monkey likes to grapple and bring its opponent to the ground.
[edit] Additional Information
[edit] At Tournaments
Monkey boxers usually wear very bright yellow colored uniforms most often with red trimmings or appliqués. The favorite weapon for Monkey Boxing is the staff or stick and standing beside it, the upper end of the staff is normally 'eye-height' for the practitioner. There are also other weapons favored by Monkey Boxers e.g. the broadsword, straight-sword and the spear as well as the iron ring. Monkey forms are not normally fast paced from start to finish as in other techniques, instead the practitioner will execute a very swift series of movements then stop to 'play' (which means to fidget or scratch and it usually involves nervously looking around, picking imaginary fruits or insects from off the legs, arms, ears or head and even the groin area then eating them or scooping water from an imaginary pond or stream then drinking it). In the lost monkey technique, there is a lot of running, nervously looking around, rolling, kicking and punching to the groin area of the opponent. Please note that the running is done in a semi-squatting position and also that a clenched fist is not used in monkey boxing, instead the fingers are loosely held like a semi-closed fist sometimes referred to as the monkey claw. With the exception of the Tall Monkey technique, all monkey forms tend to be executed from the squatting and stooping positions. When well executed, monkey forms are very comical and generally very entertaining and so tend to attract the most attention at martial arts tournaments.
[edit] Movies
The following films showcase Monkey Kung Fu either throughout the film or in major scenes:
- Hou quan kou si, english title Monkey's Fist, (1974)[4] features real-life Monkey Kung Fu specialist Grandmaster Chan Sau Chung.
- Tie ma liu, english title Iron Monkey, (1977)[5] starring Chen Kuan Tai.
- In the movie Knockabout, (1979) the lead protagonist Yipao used monkey-fist technique (which he learned from a cop pretending to be a beggar) against The Fox, which happens to be his former master and the one who killed his friend Taipao.
- Feng hou, english title Mad Monkey Kung-Fu, (1979)[6], although the technique displayed in this movie is really the 'monkey' variation of the Lau Family Hung Gar system and not genuine Tai Shing Pak Kwar Kung Fu.
- Chu long ma liu, english title Monkey's Fist Floating Snake, (1979)[7]
- Zui hou nu, english title Lady Iron Monkey, (1979)[8] starring Fung Ling Kam.
- Liu he qian shou, english title Return of the Scorpion, (1979)[9] features 7 Kung Fu masters, one (i.e. Grandmaster Chan Sau Chung) is a practitioner of Monkey Kung Fu.
- Jackie Chan's Drunken Master II (1994) (AKA Legend of Drunken Master (2000) (U.S.)) features drunken monkey-type styles in one fight scene. Wong Fei Hung takes a form he calls "monkey drinks master's wine" which bears resemblances and has a similar name to the Drunken Monkey forms "The Monkey King Stealing Wine", "The Monkey King Drinking Wine" and "The Monkey King Becoming Drunk."
- Chui ma lau, english title Drunken Monkey, uses the Monkey fist variant Drunken Monkey, (2002)[10]although the technique displayed in this movie is really the 'monkey' variation of the Lau Family Hung Gar system and not genuine Tai Shing Pak Kwar Kung Fu.
[edit] Pop Culture references
- A popular show on the Disney Channel, Kim Possible, involves the use of Tai Shing Pek Kwar. One of the show's villains, a maniacal character named Lord Montgomery Fiske, has an obsession with monkeys and dubs himself "Monkey Fist". He becomes a master of the said fighting style, which is helpful in his fights against Kim. However his is offset by Ron Stoppable's own skills.
- In the anime Dragon Ball, Son Goku used monkey-fist technique against Jackie Chun (Master Roshi) in the 21st Tenkaichi Tournament.
- In Escape from Monkey Island, the art of Monkey Combat is practiced by some of the monkeys on Monkey Island. One of the stances is called Drunken Monkey.
- In Sega´s video game, Virtua Fighter 5, the character Eileen uses Monkey Kung Fu as her fighting style, but it is unknown on which version she utilizes in battle. It is clear, however, that her style is fast-paced and comical. She even scratches her ear like a monkey and jumps like one as well.
- In Scary Movie 2, the character of Cindy Campbell says she is using the drunken monkey technique to defeat a possessed caretaker.
- In Naruto, the character Rock Lee uses a form of Drunken Monkey for the first time after mistaking a bottle of sake for his medicine.
- In a Kung Fu competition on MTV2's the Final Fu, Jonathan Phan, a prominent member of the EMC Monkeys, is seen using a different form of Monkey Kung Fu while sparring against another competitor.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- Chinese martial arts
- Northern Chinese martial arts
- Southern Chinese martial art
- Shaolin kung fu
- Drunken Monkey
