Different Types of Martial Arts
Tien Shan Pai, Double blocks, Boabom, Hop Gar Kung Fu, Hung Sing
Tien Shan Pai
This northern Chinese system was created by Hung Yun Tzu in the Tien Shan mountains in Xinjiang
Tien Shan Pai
province in the northwest of China. He was fanatical about martial arts and, as a boy, once knelt outside a temple for two days in order to learn an old monk’s fighting style.
Double blocks
Double Blocks
The art is known for its hidden footwork steps and for the unique way in which practitioners double-block attacks—meaning that if the first block should fail to stop an attack, a second hand always covers the first. Emphasis is placed on single strikes and, alongside the empty-hand forms, the art teaches a number of weapons forms.
Boabom
Boabom is a system that does not advocate repetition as a way of learning, and there is no contact between practitioners. They are encouraged instead to focus on achieving a feeling of self-confidence while avoiding fighting.
Exercises are designed to improve agility, balance, speed reflexes, spontaneity, and breathing. Movements with the aid of a stick are also taught. These martial arts weapons should be thought of as an extension of the body and the principles of movement—both with and without the stick—are the same.
Hop Gar Kung Fu
Hop gar Kung Fu is closely related to the lam; pai system and the Tibetan white crane system, both of which derive from an original system called lion’s roar. The system is now practiced mostly in southern China rather than Tibet, and hand techniques such as the “backfist” and the “overhead punch’ are perfected by the practice of forms.
The main characteristics are: no blocking; keeping opponents at arms length; deft changes of direction; and the idea of clarity of intention behind all movement.
Hung Sing
Hung Sing
Hung sing is a variant of choi li fut, which, it is thought, teaches over 100 “kata,” or forms. The system
Hop Gar Kung Fu
was taken to the US in 1931 by Professor Law Bun, who taught defensive maneuvers for fighting at the Hop Sing Tong Benevolent Association in San Francisco.
Known for its explosive and direct fighting style, it was developed by Hung-Sing Jeung using his experiences working as a security guard. For decades, it was only taught to people of Chinese origin, but it is now enjoying a growing practitioner base in the US, particularly in San Francisco.
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