instructor: monk De Jun
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- combat strategy:
the Buddha style, with a pair of small and big forms, imitates the 'luohan' ('Arhat' in Sanskrit), the ones who have reached enlightenment. this precious style teaches "camouflage". its main tactics are:
tactic 25 - "beauty tactic (美人计)": mask your moves with inoffensive postures like walking, turning, sitting, etc.
tactic 26 - "borrow the knife to kill (借刀杀人)": use elements of the environment as weapon. a handful of soil can blind the opponent, a stone, a key, anything that can harm.
tactic 27 - "hide the knife behind a smile (笑里藏刀)": mask your attacking limb with another limb. the opponent cannot recognize and react properly to a masked attack.
tactic 28 - "golden cicada molts shell (金蝉脱壳)": when the opponent stops a masked attack, he just stops the covering limb, which parries his block for the main attacking limb to continue.
these involve low stances, turns, twists, and cover-ups that hide the main moves to the last moment.
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- history:
'luohan quan' is the purest and most representative style of Shaolin kung fu. it was developed by Shaolin monks as the earliest style based on the luohan 18 hands in the earlier eras of Shaolin temple.
early Song dynasty (960s AD):
at the beginning of the Song dynasty this style was first officially sorted out and recorded into the 'Shaolin Kung Fu Manual' under the supervision of chief monk Fu Ju (福居).
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- note: there are various other forms and styles named 'luohan quan' in Chinese kung fu, and they are different from Shaolin luohan quan. these are just different styles with similar names.
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Shaolin Kung Fu tutorial:
- bodybuilding: • Shaolin Kung Fu: Body ...
- combat techniques: • Shaolin Kung Fu: Comba...
- combat styles: • Shaolin Kung Fu: Comba...
- weapons: • Shaolin Kung Fu: weapons