(reproduced from http://shaolin.org/answers/ans15b/jul15-1.html)

Chi kung works on energy resulting in good health, vitality and longevity, whereas gentle physical exercise only works on the physical body, like loosening joins and muscles

Question 1

I’m writing to ask about the combination of Chi Kung practice and recreation in China.

On your site I’ve seen information about certified instructors and heelers in different countries, but there’s nothing mentioned about China.

— Svetlana. Russia

Answer

I am sorry I would be unable to give a satisfactory answer on the combination of chi kung practice and recreation in China for the following reasons.

Our view of chi kung is quite different from that of most chi kung practitioners in China. We consider what they practice as gentle physical exercise, and not chi kung. Chi kung is an art of energy, but what most practitioners today in China do is to work on their physical body, like loosening joints and muscles, and not on their energy.

As an analogy, which may give a clearer picture, what most Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) practitioners today practice is external Taijiquan movements and not Taijiquan. Taijiquan is an internal martial art, but there is nothing internal, and nothing martial in what most Taijiquan practitioners today practice.

In both chi kung and Taijiquan, the forms used by most other practitioners and by us in our school, Shaolin Wahnam, are the same. The difference lies in how we practice the same forms. Most chi kung practitioners in China practice the chi kung forms as gentle physical exercise; we practice the same forms as an art of energy. Most other Taijiquan practitioners all over the world practice the Taijiquan forms as external movements; we practice the same Taijiquan forms as an internal martial art.

This is our view. You should also get the views of those whom we consider practice chi kung as gentle physical exercise, or Taijiquan as external movements.

Nevertheless, there are masters in China who practice chi kung as an art of energy, and there are masters in the world, including in China, who practice Taijiquan as an internal martial art. But they are few and rare, and may not be interested in teaching their arts.

On the other hand, I am competent to give a satisfactory answer on the combination of chi kung practice and recreation in our school. While there are many other benefits, like good health, vitality, longevity and peak performance, we take our chi kung practice as recreation, and not as endurance as many other chi kung practitioners may regard their practice. If you learn from us, you will soon discover that the three golden rules of practice in our school are (1) not to worry, (2) not to intellectualize while practicing, and (3) enjoy your practice.

This difference between recreation and endurance is more noticeable in the various styles of kungfu practiced in our school. In most other schools, kungfu training is characterized by endurance, epitomized by the term “ku lian”, which means “bitter training”. In our school the key word even in kungfu training is “enjoy yourselves”. It is almost a joke.

Chi kung, but not gentle physical exercise, is excellent for therapy. Many of our students overcame their so-called incurable diseases, like cancer, heart problems, diabetes, chronic pain, depression and addiction, by practicing chi kung learnt from us. Those who are already healthy prevent these so-called incurable diseases from happening, and are daily full of joy and vitality.

Please take note that “therapy” here means healing yourself, not healing others. In other words, our chi kung practice enables our students to heal themselves if they are sick, and remain healthy if they have no illness. If they want to be a chi kung healer to heal others, they must first become a good chi kung student, then be selected to attend special courses on chi kung healing.

My website contains information about activities, including certified instructors and healers, in various countries but not in China, because it describes activities as they are, and we have not expanded to China. If people in China believe that they can benefit from our activities, we shall gladly expand there. It is worthy of note that the expansion of our activities worldwide is spontaneous, initiated by dedicated people in the countries themselves.

Question 2

I would like to combine recreation, therapy, relaxation with Chi Kung practice. Is it possible to do in one of your health cultivation centres. I have recently come across the book by Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit, “The Art of Chi Kung”, and I’ve realized that it’s exactly what I need.

Answer

If you like to combine recreation, therapy, relaxation with chi kung practice, I would recommend that you attend my Intensive Chi Kung Course. You may also be amazed at the many other benefits that you may not even dream about. Please see my website for details, and apply to my secretary for registration.

Thank you for the kind words about my book. Many people have kindly told me that it is the best book they have read on chi kung.

Kungfu is for fighting — using kungfu techniques, not kick-boxing or techniques of other martial systems

Question 3

I want to learn kungfu.

— Ali, Pakistan

Answer

Many people want to learn kungfu, but end up learning kungfu forms or kick-boxing instead. Learning kungfu fomrs or kick-boxing is fine, but it is different from learning kungfu.

Before you learn kungfu, or any art, it is wise to know what that art is. This may sound trite or unnecessary, but it will not only save you a lot of time but also prevent you from much injury.

For convenience we may classify kungfu into three types: ordinary kungfu, good kungfu, and great kungfu.

Ordinary kungfu is for self-defence. There are also other arts of self-defence, like kick-boxing, karate and taekwondo. The main difference is their forms. Kick-boxing uses kick-boxing forms, karate uses karate forms, taekwondo uses taekwondo forms, and kungfu uses kungfu forms.

There are different styles of kungfu, like Shaolin, Taijiquan, Praying Mantis and Baguzzhang. Praying Mantis kungfu forms can be very different from Baguazhang kungfu forms.

About 90% of those who say they practice kungfu only perform kungfu forms. Strictly speaking they do not practice genuine kungfu because they cannot apply their kungfu forms for fighting. Many of them may not admit this fact. Some may not even realize it.

Of those who practice only kungfu forms and cannot use their kungfu forms for fighting, 70% of them perform their kungfu forms for demonstration. Past masters referred to such demonstrative kungfu forms as “flowery fists embroidery kicks”. 30% of them use kick-boxing or other martial techniques, but not kungfu, for fighting.

I would like to clarify that personally I have nothing against them. What and how they choose to practice is their right and business. Actually many of those who practice “flowery fists and embroidery kicks” are very nice people – the type of people I would like to have tea with, though I disagree with their concept and practice of kungfu.

So, kungfu is quite rare. Kungfu is for fighting. But the great majority of those who say they practice kungfu, cannot use their kungfu for fighting, though some of them are good fighters using kick-boxing or other martial techniques.

For every 100 persons who say they practice kungfu, only about 10 can use their kungfu for fighting. In our classification, we call this ordinary kungfu.

But kungfu is not just for fighting, though combat efficiency is its most basic requirement. Good kungfu contributes to health, vitality and longevity. While the percentage of those who practice genuine kungfu is low, only about 10%, amongst those who practice genuine kungfu, the percentage of good kungfu is high, about 70%. So about 7 out of the 10 practitioners of genuine kungfu have good health. They also have high moral values.

Amongst those who practice “flowery fists embroidery kicks”, the percentage of good health is also very high, about 90%, or about 63 of 70 practitioners. But they cannot be said to practice good kungfu, not even ordinary kungfu, because they cannot use their kungfu for combat.

Why is the percentage of good health amongst “flowery fists embroidery kicks” practitioners, 90%, higher than that of genuine kungfu practitioners, 70%? It is because genuine kungfu practitioners engage in combat where they may tense their muscles to generate mechanical strength. Those who practice kungfu forms but use kick-boxing or other martial techniques for combat do not have good health because they sustain a lot of injury which is routinely left unattended to.

Great kungfu, which is not only for combat and good health but also for spiritual cultivation, is very rare. Only 1% of those who say they practice kungfu may have a chance to practice great kungfu.

Please take note that spiritual cultivation is different from moral cultivation, though they are closely related. A morally cultivated person is kind and considerate, but he may or may not believe in his own spirit. He may think that he is only a physical body. Spiritual cultivation is the cultivation of the spirit. A spiritually cultivated person is relaxed, peaceful and happy, and at high levels may have glimpses of Cosmic Realty.

Please also take note that spiritual cultivation is non-religious. Any person of any religion or without any professed religion can cultivate spiritually. Spiritual cultivation will enable a religious person to be a better follower of his own religion because it makes his religions teaching come alive.

To sum up, kungfu is rare. Most people practice only kungfu forms, and use kick-boxing or other martial techniques when they have to fight. Genuine kungfu may be ordinary, good or great. Ordinary kungfu is for fighting. Good kungfu is for fighting and good health. Great kungfu is for fighting, good health and spiritual cultivation.

It is a golden opportunity to be able to practice great kungfu. But because kungfu today is so debased, the public generally does not have a good impression of kungfu practitioners. They think of them as rough and aggressive. In fact it is the resvers. A genuine kungfu practitioner is gentle and considerate to others, relaxed and happy to himself.

Question 4

I often feel more powerful after training a Small Universe session rather than an Iron Wire session.

— Steven, USA

Answer

If all other things were equal, Iron Wire will produce more internal force than Small Universe. On the other hand, Small Universe will give better health benefits than Iron Wire. This is relative. Iron Wire, when practiced correct, also gives very good benefits for health. Small Universe also produces internal force.

But many people practice Iron Wire wrongly. They perform it as isometric exercise which also produces much strength. But it produces big muscles which are detrimental to health.

For you other things are not equal. You have learned both Iron Wire and Small Universe, and can perform them well. More significantly, you gain the benefit of breadth and depth, which enhance both your Iron Wire and Small Universe as well as all other arts. Hence, different from the norm, your Small Universe generate more internal force for you than Iron Wire.

There may be various reasons which we don’t need to worry about, but will discuss here for intellectual pleasure. A likely reason is that having learnt Iron Wire, you know how to develop internal force using the force method. When you practice Small Universe, your flow method enhance the internal force earlier created by your force method, making you more powerful than had you employed only the force method.

A Small Universe Course in Penang

Question 5

Can Small Universe be used as the sole method for training internal force? If so, is the internal force generated from Small Universe classified as flowing force?

Answer

Yes, you can use only the Small Universe to generate internal force. But because you also know other methods, it is wise to use the other methods too, even once a while.

Yes, the internal force generated from Small Universe is classified as flowing force. Because of our benefit in breadth and depth, we can convert the flowing force into consolidated force, and vice versa, if we like.

You need not worry whether which method will give you the optimum benefit, because even if, without your knowing, you have chosen a relatively less effective method, you will still produce a lot of internal force and other benefits.

As an analogy, if a man uses method A he earns 4 million dollars a month, but he uses method B he earns only 3 million dollars a month, which is by proportion considerably less. But he needs not worry and makes himself stressful which method to use. Even if he earns only a million dollars a month using any method and performs below par, he still has more money than his needs.

But if he earns four thousand dollars a month using method A, and only three thousand dollars a month using method B, he needs to be sure he uses method A. Earning 25% less income in this case makes a difference.

Question 6

By practicing the Small Universe daily and training Iron Wire once in awhile, does my Iron Wire force dissipate from the circulation from Small Universe? I believe the answer is no from personal experience, but I would be very grateful if Sigung could confirm.

Answer

You are right. The answer is no.

For other people without our benefit of breadth and depth, not only the Iron Wire force will dissipate, it may interfere with his Small Universe training.

This is because of the magic of chi flow that we have. We can convert flowing force, or a portion of it, into consolidated force, and vice versa.

An Iron Wire Course in Lisbon

Question 7

I’ve been trying to slowly incorporate Iron Wire back into my training regimen by practicing every other day. However, I find that the force generated from Small Universe often spills over into my Iron Wire practice, making the Iron Wire sessions too powerful.

Answer

This is quite normal in our school because of our benefit of breadth and depth. Yours and many other people’s examples in our school answer a question some of our instructors initially asked, which was whether they should focus on what they already knew or learned new material.

Our advice to students, which is quite ridiculous to other people if not a joke, is to tell our students train less, not more. Don’t over-train. Use the time you save and the internal force and mental clarity you gain from your training to get a good girlfriend.

Question 8

Could Sigung kindly provide training advice as to how to proceed with Small Universe and Iron Wire?

Answer

If you earn a million dollars a month when your needs are ten thousands, you need not worry about the best working procedure. Just carry on working the way you have been doing, with the three golden rules of working, namely don’t worry, don’t intellectualize, enjoy the work. Even if you earn only one tenth of your potential, you still earn ten times your needs.

This is the same as internal force training. You change “dollars” to “units of internal force”. If you generate a million units of internal force a month when your needs are only ten thousand units, you need not worry about your best training procedure. Even if you generate only one tenth of your potential, you still have ten times more force than your needs. Just continue training the way you have been doing, but taking care not to over-train, following the three golden rules of practice, namely don’t worry, don’t intellectualize, enjoy your practice.

Is it fair to say that you can generate a million units of internal force? Let us do some comparison. Suppose a student in another school is lucky enough to train internal force, and he develops 20,000 units of internal force a month. You develop 1,000,000 units, which is 50 times more. So the question is whether it is justifiable to estimate that you are 50 times more efficient.

You develop so much force in just one session. From practical experience of students training internal force, it is reasonable to say that he does not develop a similar amount of force in 50 days. So the estimate is justified.

Is it reasonable to say that a person’s needs to carry on life healthily are 10,000 units of internal force? By leading a healthy life is meant that he is not sick nor in pain, he can eat and sleep, and do his work and enjoy his play. We assign 10,000 units of internal force to carry out such activities.

Not many people have a change to train internal force. We assign 20,000 units to a person who has genuinely and successfully trained internal force. In other words, a person with internal force will have double the amount of force to carry out the normal life of a healthy person. From everyday experience, this is a reasonable estimate.

(reproduced from http://shaolin.org/answers/ans15a/jun15-3.html)

According to chi kung philosophy all diseases can be overcome

Question 1

Can you tell us more about heart to heart transmission?

— Dagmar, Germany

Answer

Heart to heart transmission is self-explanatory. It means the transfer of knowledge, skills, wisdom or realization from the heart of the teacher to the heart of the student. However, like many arts such as chi kung and spiritual cultivation, the uninitiated may still not understand the meaning even when it is clearly explained.

A good example is “chi”, or energy. Students in our school do not ask what chi is because they realize its meaning through direct experience. But many chi kung practitioners still ask what chi is despite having practiced chi kung, or what they think is chi kung, for many years. It is because they do not have a direct experience of chi.

All great arts are not merely taught by a teacher to his students, but are transmitted by him to then from heart to heart. It is failing to appreciate this fact, mainly due to a lack of direct experience, that many people think, mistakenly, that they can learn great arts from books or videos, or that all teachers of these arts are the same.

It is also due to a failure to appreciate this fact that some people ask me what chi kung exercises they should practice to overcome certain illness. It is not the kind of exercises they perform, i.e. the techniques, but how they perform them, i.e. the skills, that are crucial in enabling them to overcome illness. In other words, even when they know the best techniques but lack the necessary skills, they would not overcome their illness. Skills are best acquired from a competent teacher. On the other hand, even when a person has only mediocre techniques but good skills, he may overcome his illness.

It is because of our understanding of this fact about techniques and skills, that we have become very cost-effective in our training. Indeed, we are cost-effective to a ridiculous extent, that our students can attain in one month what it takes even masters a year to attain!

Masters take a much longer time to attain similar results because they do not differentiate between techniques and skills. They practice appropriate techniques dedicatedly and develop the necessary skills unknowingly, which may happen haphazardly. Only when the necessary skills are present during their training that the desired benefits result. Hence, they do not have the great advantage of accumulated benefit even when they practice everyday, because, as they are unaware of them, the necessary skills do not occur every time they practice.

This understanding between techniques and skills constitute a crucial part of heart to heart transmission. It is skills that are transmitted from heart to heart, not techniques.

Let us take Cosmic Shower as an illustration. An excellent technique for Cosmic Shower is Carrying the Moon. Students may practice Carrying the Moon correctly and diligently, but they may not have a cosmic shower. Indeed, most of them do not have even an energy flow. They practice the technique as gentle physical exercise, not as an art of energy.

Some of these dedicated students may eventually, but without their conscious awareness, develop the skills of generating an energy flow. Next, usually after many years, a very few of these dedicated students may experience a cosmic shower after they have unknowingly developed the necessary skills.

Our students are very lucky. When they take a course on Cosmic Shower, the necessary skills are transmitted to them. By applying these skills they can have a cosmic shower in just one day! As I mentioned earlier, this is ridiculous, but true.

How do our students know that they have a cosmic shower? In principle it is the same as asking how do people know they eat an orange or drink some coffee. They know from direct experience. Our students know they have a cosmic shower as surely as those eating oranges or drinking coffee know they eat oranges or drink coffee. Those who have no experience of a cosmic shower, eating oranges or drinking coffee will not know regardless of how well the events are described to them.

The transmission must be from heart to heart, not merely giving instructions from mouth to ear. Let us take an example. A teacher may ask his students to relax, which incidentally is a very important requirement in any internal cultivation. The instruction comes from the teacher’s mouth, and enters the students’ ears. But the students may not be relaxed. No matter how well they perform the techniques, they will not get the benefit of the art.

On the other hand, when a teacher from our school asks his students to relax, it is transmitted from his heart to his students’ heart. He sincerely wants his students to relax so that his teaching is successful, and his students genuinely want to relax so that they derive the benefit of the training. When I teach a class on Cosmic Shower, I sincerely want to impart the necessary skills, and the students genuine want to follow the instructions so as to get the desired results.

Question 2

Are you able to treat schizophrenia? My son has audio hallucinations. They began in 2006. He was treated by a grand qigong master. The voices subsided for 2 years. They returned he recieve another treatment. However eventually the treatments stopped being effective. He continued his qigong exercises and herbs. It was not successful. I am still hopeful qigong can help. Are you able to successfully treat him?

— Cathy, USA

Answer

According to qigong philosophy, there is no such a thing as an incurable disease. In other words, all diseases, including schizophrenia, can be overcome by practicing genuine, high-level qigong.

However, this does not necessarily mean that all patients will be cured of their diseases if they practice genuine, high-level qigong. This is because other factors besides genuine. high-level qigong are at work in overcoming diseases. For example, if a patient does not practice correctly or sufficiently, or his illness has gone beyond a threshold, he would not be cured even when he has a rare opportunity to practice genuine, high-level qigong.

Nevertheless, we are happy and proud to say that many people who suffered from schizophrenia completely recovered their good health after practicing qigong learnt from us. This webpage gives some examples of remarkable recovery. You can also find many other examples from my website and at our Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.

I would recommend that your son attend my Intensive Chi Kung Course. Please apply to my secretary for registration if your son wishes to attend. Besides overcoming illness, the course gives many other benefits.

The opening pattern in the Taming Tiger Set is an excellent way to train internal force

Question 3

One thing that confuses me, though, is the methodology of training. The sifu told me that the first two stages of his school’s training were predominantly external, followed by internal cultivation.

I remember you mentioned that during your training with Uncle Righteousness, he emphasized using strength and striking a wooden dummy. I also remember that one of your sihings who specialized in the Triple Stretch set broke a staff he was using when his internal force shook through it.

Did Uncle Righteousness teach in a similar way to this school, first emphasizing ‘using strength’ and then teaching internal force in later levels, for example when teaching Triple Stretc

— Fredrick Chu, USA

Editorial Note: Fredrick’s other questions can be accessed at June 2015 Part 2 issue of the Question-Answer Series.

Answer

Almost all schools other than the so-called internal schools train in this way. They start with external training. Because of their dedicated training over a long time, they develop internal force, often without calling it internal force.

The so-called internal schools start with “soft” training (but not internal training). Even when their students are dedicated over a long time, they never develop any internal force, though sometimes some of them talk about internal force as if they have it.

This was the reason why your sisook, Anthony Spinicchia, told us in Hawaii that he found “external” masters had more internal force than so-called “internal” masters.

Our school is a rare exception. We have external and internal, hard and soft training right at the start.

Question 4

I’ve noticed that the students who are more senior than me were using a lot of tension when practicing the greeting pattern and beginning section of the Taming the Tiger set. Sifu wrote a blog post recently hypothesizing that some students who saw their masters demonstrate force in a manner that caused their hands and arms to vibrate, tried duplicating the vibration, but with muscular tension. Many of the demonstrations I’ve seen on YouTube of practitioners from the Hoong Ka lineage show a lot of tension with their lineage greeting pattern, Five Animals set (especially the Dragon section of the set), and Iron Wire.

Answer

You sifu is right. The masters had internal force, and the students did not have. The students imitated the external form of the master without knowing its inner significance. This is known in Chinese (Cantonese) as “zi kei phew ye pat zi kei nui”, which my Wing Choon master, Sifu Choy Hoong Choy, often said.

The obvious external appearance was the vibration of the master’s hand due to his internal force. The students did not have internal force, but they imitated the master’s movement. So they purposely shook their hands, moving their fingers. Their action was voluntary, whereas the master’s action was involuntary.

This imitation was most noticeable in Silat, the Malay art of attack and defence. I believe in its early history, Silat was much influenced by Baguazhang. Many Baguazhang masters from the Chinese imperial guards came to Indonesia and Malaysia (called Malaya at that time) to teach the guards of the local sultans. The masters had much internal force and their hands vibrated. The locak students tried to imitate them, with the result that today many Silat practitioners purposely move their fingers often without knowing why.

At least these Silat students do not harm themselves. These movements are often called “bunga” or “flower”, i.e. meant for show. Their combat applications are called “buah”, or “fruit”.

But tensing their muscles in their attempt to produce force, like what many Hoong Ka students do, can be very harmful, and worse, their harm is insidious. Their tension is due to practicing internal force training methods, especially in Iron Wire, as isometric exercise. They can develop a lot of power, but the power comes from muscular strength and not from internal force. Some of them even go a step farther by lifting weights.

A tell-tale sign of their mistake is that they have big muscles. It is alarming that they don’t seem to realize that masters like Wong Fei Hoong and Lam Sai Weng, who were very powerful, did not have big muscles.

Sifu Wong Chun Nga demonstrating Golden Bell where he took strikes by a chopper without sustaining any injury from Sifu Mark Appleford

Question 5

I want to avoid using muscular tension, as my personal experience is that I’ve gotten better results through internal force training. To avoid using tension, should I instead emphasize consolidating and vibrating my internal force (and later letting it flow) instead of using muscular tension?

Answer

It is unwise to use muscular tension even if you don’t produce any internal force. It is just silly to use muscular tension when you know how to produce internal force with appropriate methods even if the internal force produced is less than muscular strength. It is very silly if you have personal experience that the internal force produced is better than muscular strength from muscular tension.

You just avoid muscular tension. You don’t have to purposely emphasize consolidating and vibrating your internal force and later letting it flow. You just practice the methods as you have learnt them, without adding anything extra.

If your sifu or whoever competent teacher teaching you does not ask you to consolidate force, you don’t have to consolidate force. If he asks you to consolidate force, you consolidate force.

It is actually very simple. If your teacher asks you to do ABC, you just do ABC. You don’t do ABC and then add D. You also don’t do CBA or EFG.

Of course you must, before you started to learn from a teacher, ensure that he is competent, and his students have the result practicing the art will give.

Question 6

To link up with my questions with the Small Universe above, are Hoong Ka practitioners known for attaining the Small or Big Universe? I remember hearing in the discussion forum that some people felt the Iron Wire set was akin to a Forceful Small Universe.

Answer

Hoong Ka practitioners and practitioners of any kungfu style normally do not attend the Small or Big Universe. Only rare masters, after many, many years of dedicated training may attain the Small Universe, and rarely the Big Universe, and often without their conscious knowing.

Only a few people at masters’ levels had a chance to learn the Small Universe. Even these masters took about 10 years or more to attain it. They would give a celebration on attaining the Small Universe.

It was, and still is, to most other people outside our school, ridiculous to attain the Small Universe in a special course of a few days. Attaining the Small Universe in my Small Universe Course is the norm, not the exception.

But strictly speaking these successful course participants did not attain the Small Universe in a few days. They had already spent at least two or three years, usually more, accumulating their chi at their dan tian. I took a few days in the course to activate their small universal chi flow.

Why do our students take two or three years to attain the Small Universe when past masters took more than ten? One important reason is that we understand the underlying philosophy. Another important reason is that we differentiate between techniques and skills. A third important reason is that we employ the best techniques and skills and have accumulative effect.

Lau Ka Kungfu is well known for its staff

Question 7

As an interesting side note, when I asked the Hoong Ka sifu about his school’s Iron Vest and Golden Bell, he said that some of the benefits he most enjoyed about were a greatly enhanced immune system, longevity, and overall youthfulness. Since he is about 59, but he looks 30 and is very physically fit and agile in addition to being full of laughter, I’m very certain he has attained good levels in his training.

Answer

The Hoong Ka sifu is an inspiration.

Those who harm themselves by lifting weight or generous exchange of blows, are angry and depressed, and look 59 when they are just 30, should learn from this sifu’s example, if not actually from him in person.

Question 8

I also had a question about some kung fu history. According to the Hoong Ka sifu, some schools of Hoong Ka incorporated Lau Ka kung fu into their training, and this school is one of them. I began learning a set named Lau Ka Kuen and it feels similar to the feeling I get from practicing the Cross-Road at Four Gates set. Could you explain a little about Lau Ka kung fu’s history and general characteristics?

Answer

This is no surprise as both Hoong Ka Kungfu and Lau Ka Kungfu came from Southern Shaolin, and Cross-Road at Four Gates was the fundamental set at the southern Shaolin Temple at Quanzhou.

After the burning of the southern Shaolin Temple at Quanzhou, the Venerable Chee Seen built another southern Shaolin Temple on the Nine-Lotus Mountain. This second southern Shaolin Temple was also burnt, and some masters escaped.

One of these Shaolin masters escaped to Guangxi Province in the western part of South China and taught Shaolin Kungfu to Lau Sam Ngan.

Lau Sam Ngan was his nick-name, which means “Three-Eye Lau”. During a sparring using staffs with his master, he was hit on the forehead, and a scar remained like a third eye.

Lau Sam Ngan spread this style of Shaolin Kungfu, which was name after him, meaning Lau Family Kungfu. It is a hard, external style, using low stances and short strikes. Lau Ka Kungfu is well know for its staff.