Monkey Kung Fu (猴拳), or Monkey Fist, is a Chinese martial art Chinese martial arts, sometimes referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu (Chinese: 功夫 pinyin: gōngfu), are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in what is today the country of China.These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families& which utilizes ape An ape is any member of the Hominoidea superfamily of primates, including humans. Due to its ambiguous nature, the term ape has been deemphasized in favor of Hominoidea as a means of describing taxonomic relationships or monkey A monkey is any cercopithecoid or platyrrhine (New World monkey) primate. All primates that are not prosimians (lemurs and tarsiers) or apes are monkeys. The 264 known extant monkey species represent two of the three groupings of simian primates (the third group being the 21 species of apes). Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent and,-like movements as part of its technique. Monkey kung fu integrates the use of an extensive collection of weapons for use in combat, thus creating an effective way to help you realize the true meaning of the monkey and have a feel for the monkey based movements.

Origins

Hou Quan

Hou Quan (猴拳), literally Monkey Fist, can be traced back to the Han dynasty and is recorded in the Mi Hou Wu dance performed at the Emperor's court.[1] Contrary to popular belief, there are actually a number of independently developed systems of monkey kung fu. Examples includes Xingzhemen (行者門) named after the protagonist Sun Wukong Sun Wukong, known in the West as the Monkey King, is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West . In the novel, he accompanies the monk Xuanzang on the journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India of the popular Ming dynasty novel Journey to the West In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley. The Waley translation has also been published as Adventures of the Monkey God; and Monkey: [A] Folk Novel of China; and The Adventures of Monkey, Nanhouquan (南猴拳) or Southern Monkey Fist originating from the Southern Shaolin Temple as well as the more well known Da Sheng Pi Gua Men 大聖劈掛門 style of Hong Kong. The houquan style from the Emei Mount Emei is a mountain in Sichuan province of Western China. Mount Emei is often written as 峨眉山 and occasionally 峩嵋山 or 峩眉山 but all three are translated as Mount Emei or Mount Emeishan region, taught by the famous "Monkey King" Xiao Yingpeng and others, was also used as the basis for the modern wushu The sport of wushu is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. It was created in the People's Republic of China after 1949, in an attempt to nationalize the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts. Most of the modern competition forms were formed from their parent arts (see list below) by variant of monkey style (and monkey staff) that is often seen in demonstrations and competitions today. Each independent style has its own unique approach to the expression of how to incorporate a monkey's movements into fighting.

Hou Quan may have contributed to other styles as well. For example, Wang Lang, the 17th century founder of Northern Praying Mantis Boxing Northern Praying Mantis is a style of Chinese martial arts, sometimes called Shandong Praying Mantis after its province of origin. It was created by Wang Lang (王朗) and was named after the praying mantis, an insect, the aggressiveness of which inspired the style. One Mantis legend places the creation of the style in the Song Dynasty when Wang (tanglang quan), was said to have borrowed the footwork of the Monkey style to complement the extremely fast handwork of Praying Mantis Kung Fu.[2]

Da Sheng Men

Da Sheng Men, or "Great Sage" Kung Fu, was developed near the end of the Qing dynasty The Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 (with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917). It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China (1644–1911) by a fighter named Kou Si (Kau Sei) from a small village in Northern China Northern China and Southern China (Chinese: 华南; pinyin: Huánán), also referred to in China as simply (Chinese: 北方; pinyin: Běifāng) the North and (Chinese: 南方; pinyin: Nánfāng) the South, are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined. Nevertheless, the self-. 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 Di Tang style. While exact circumstances of Kou Si's inspiration remain legend, upon his release he developed his new style of fighting and dubbed it 'Da Sheng Men' (Great Sage Style) in honor of the Monkey King Sun Wukong Sun Wukong, known in the West as the Monkey King, is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West . In the novel, he accompanies the monk Xuanzang on the journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India in the Buddhist Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by adherents as an tale Journey to the West In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley. The Waley translation has also been published as Adventures of the Monkey God; and Monkey: [A] Folk Novel of China; and The Adventures of Monkey.

Da Sheng Pi Gua

Da Sheng Pi Gua Kung Fu 大聖劈掛門 was developed by Kou Si's student Geng De Hai who started learning Pi Gua kung fu from his father Kan Wing Kwai from as early as 8 years of age. Gan Wing Gwai was a master of Pi Gua kung fu and after his death, Kou Si decided to train Geng De Hai in Da Sheng Kung Fu. After mastering Da Sheng Kung Fu and combining it with Pi Gua Kung Fu, out of respect for Kou Si's friendship, in naming the new technique Geng De Hai placed Da Sheng at the beginning followed by Pi Gua hence the name Da Sheng Pi Gua Kung Fu.

Techniques

Hou Quan

Traditional hou quan as taught in Mainland China includes running on all fours (i.e. the hands and feet), various difficult acrobatic movements such as flipping sideways in the air, front flips, back flips, back handsprings, hand stands, walking on the hands, forward lunges/dives, backward lunges, spinning on the butt, spinning on the back and many kicks and strikes. Most of the attacks are aimed at the knees, groin area, throat or eyes of the opponent and hand strikes are normally either open handed slaps or clawing with a semi-closed fist called the monkey claw. A wide array of facial monkey expressions are also practiced, inclusive of happiness, anger, fear, fright, confusion and bewilderment etc. Except for very brief periods, most movements inclusive of running are executed from either a squatting or semi-squatting position and are normally accompanied by very swift and 'jerky' head movements as the practitioner nervously looks around. The monkey staff, or hou gun (猴棍), is one of this style's specialty weapons. Monkey boxing is an imitative technique and so execution of the movements and facial expressions must be so convincing that it looks exactly like a monkey and not simply like a human imitating a monkey hence the very high degree of difficulty associated with this technique.

Da Sheng

There are five variations of monkey kung fu developed as part of the Da Sheng Men system, and still utilized in the later Da Sheng Pi Gua system (although the Crafty monkey variation described below may have been absorbed into the Lost monkey curriculum in Da Shing Pi Gua and Bei Shaolin among others, hence there are only five variations listed, in these systems):

1. Drunken Monkey Drunken Monkey Form or Drunken Monkey Pole Form of Kung Fu is a Chinese martial art, and one of the variations of the Monkey Style 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 for the opponent to approach at which time a devastating attack is launched at the knees or groin areas of the opponent. In drunken monkey you use more internal energy than any other. It is one of the more difficult of the monkey styles to master and also extremely effective against a standard, attack-oriented enemy. Countering this style involves shifting your body around often to ensure that the Drunken Monkey user impacts more solid, tougher areas of your body.
2. Stone Monkey is a "physical" style. The practitioner trains up his body to exchange blows with the opponent - Stone Monkey uses a kind of Iron body method. It will leave an area exposed on its body for an opponent to attack, so it can attack a more vital spot on the body. Its is important not to attack reflexively at open spots, and try to hammer away at their weak spots until they give in.
3. Lost Monkey feigns a lot. Practitioners of Lost Monkey give the appearance of being lost and confused to deceive the opponent into underestimating his abilities, and he retaliates when it is least expected. The hands and footwork change and flow from each other at will. All monkeys are sociable animals and so they live in troupes or family groups. They are also very territorial by nature and so when they wander into the territory of another troupe 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 quickly as is possible while nervously looking around before scurrying back to its own home range.
4. 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.
5. Wooden Monkey mimics 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.

Additional information

Tournaments

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 performed 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 very quickly 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. Running is done in a semi-squatting position and a clenched fist is not used; instead the fingers are loosely held in 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 comical and entertaining, so tend to attract the most attention at martial arts tournaments.

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)[3] features real-life Monkey Kung Fu specialist Chan Sau Chung.
• Tie ma liu, English title Iron Monkey, (1977)[4] starring Chen Kuan Tai.
• In the movie Knockabout Knockabout is a 1979 Hong Kong action film directed by Sammo Hung and starring Yuen Biao, (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)[5], although the technique displayed in this movie is really the 'monkey' variation of the Lau Family Hung Gar system and not genuine Da Sheng Pi Gua Kung Fu.
• Chu long ma liu, English title Monkey's Fist Floating Snake, (1979)[6]
• Zui hou nu, English title Lady Iron Monkey, (1979)[7] starring Fung Ling Kam.
• Liu he qian shou, English title Return of the Scorpion, (1979)[8] features 7 Kung Fu masters, one (i.e. Chan Sau Chung) is a practitioner of Monkey Kung Fu. In the first fight scene, Chan Sau Chung does a few movements of the Drunken Monkey technique in that he take a few faltering steps (i.e. Monkey Staggering Steps) then he lies prone and waits for his opponent to approach at which time he does a massive wheel kick and immediately launches an attack at his opponents groin (i.e. angry monkey steals the peaches).
• Jackie Chan Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong-born actor, action choreographer, filmmaker, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer's Drunken Master II Drunken Master II is a 1994 Hong Kong action martial-arts film directed by Lau Kar-Leung and Jackie Chan, who stars as Chinese folk hero, Wong Fei Hung. It was Chan's first traditional style martial arts film since The Young Master (1980). The film was released in North America as The Legend of Drunken Master in 2000 (1994) (AKA Legend of Drunken Master (2000) (U.S. ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language)) features drunken monkey-type styles in one fight scene. Wong Fei Hung Wong Fei-hung or Hwang Fei-hung was a Chinese martial artist, a traditional Chinese medicine physician, acupuncturist and revolutionary who became a folk hero and the subject of numerous television series and films. He was considered an expert in the Hung Ga style of Chinese martial arts. Wong is visibly the most famous Hung Ga practitioner of 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 Drunken Monkey is a 2002 kung fu film directed by Lau Kar-leung. The movie is only the second film produced by Shaw Studios since 1989. The characters in the film use the Drunken Monkey style of kung fu. Strictly speaking this is not the Drunken Monkey technique, instead it is one of the monkey variations of the Lau Family Hung Gar system and is, uses the Monkey fist variant Drunken Monkey Drunken Monkey Form or Drunken Monkey Pole Form of Kung Fu is a Chinese martial art, and one of the variations of the Monkey Style, (2002)[9] 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.
• In the film "Extreme Fighter," Monkey Kung Fu master Michael Matsuda co-stars in the role of the "monkey man."
• In the film "Bloodsport" a Monkey Kung Fu user participates in a underground fighting tournament.
• In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It was the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, the first of a three-film prequel story to the original film trilogy. It was also Lucas' first film as a director in 22 years, and only his fourth overall. The film follows, Ray Park can be seen using an adapted form of Monkey Kung Fu as Sith Lord Darth Maul Darth Maul is a fictional character in George Lucas' science fiction saga Star Wars. Maul is the main antagonist of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz. The character also appears in the Star Wars Expanded Universe of novels, comic books, and video games.
• In Kung Fu Panda Kung Fu Panda is a 2008 American animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by John Wayne Stevenson and Mark Osborne and produced by Melissa Cobb, and stars the voice of Jack Black along with Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, there was a monkey master that attacked obviously with the monkey style of kung fu. He was voiced by Jackie Chan^[1]
• In The Forbidden Kingdom The Forbidden Kingdom is a 2008 American martial arts adventure film from Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company directed by Rob Minkoff. It is the first film to star together two of the best-known names in the martial arts film genre, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. The action sequences were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping Jackie Chan Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong-born actor, action choreographer, filmmaker, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer used the Drunken Monkey style since he had to drink wine all the time to be immortal, but of course he would still be drunk.
• In the Disney The Walt Disney Company is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world. Founded on October 16, 1923 by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, the company was reincorporated as Walt Disney Productions in 1929. Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation cartoon Kim Possible Kim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the secret-agent and action genres, Kim's sidekick, Ron Stoppable Ronald "Ron" Stoppable is a fictional character from the Disney animated television series Kim Possible, voiced by actor Will Friedle, is embued with the abilities of Monkey Kung Fu master by four ancient statues. Also on the show, Montgomery Fiske (a.k.a. Monkey Fist Kim Possible is a high-school cheerleader and crime fighter, who saves the world on a regular basis while dealing with the normal challenges of a teenage life, such as winning cheer competitions, turning in her homework on time, and developing a love life. Her full name is Kimberly Ann Possible), a villain with surgically-altered hands and feet, is a master of Tai Shing Pek Kwar.
• In the movie The Quest (film) The Quest is a 1996 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Roger Moore, Janet Gunn, and James Remar. The film is Van Damme's directorial debut. The plot revolves around an international martial arts tournament, with a storyline similar to that of Bloodsport. It was originally penned by Frank Dux. It's a rework of a script Frank Dux wrote entitled &, the representative from China uses an obvious monkey style for his second match.

References

1. ^ "KUNG FU PANDA: Big Bear Cat was "PO-fect"". Kung Fu Magazine. http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=771. Retrieved 2009-12-27.

1. "The Monkey King" Chan Sau Chung's Journey to the West.
2. The Shaolin Society- Monkey Kung Fu
3. U.S. Tai Shing Pek Kwar website
4. History of Monkey Kung Fu Book

See also

• Crazy Monkey Boxing 'Crazy Monkey Boxing, now better known as the Crazy Monkey Defense is a unique approach to boxing principles meant to be incorporated primarily in Self-Defense applications but has evolved to include Mixed-Martial Arts. It was developed by South African martial arts coach Rodney King (not the same and no relation to Rodney King)
• Dragon dance Dragon dance is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance it is most often seen in festive celebrations. Many Chinese people often use the term "Descendants of the Dragon" (龍的傳人 or 龙的传人, lóng de chuán rén) as a sign of ethnic identity, as part of a trend started in the 1970s
• Lion dance Lion dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture, in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume. The lion dance is often mistaken as dragon dance. An easy way to tell the difference is that a lion is operated by two people, while a dragon needs many people. Also, in a lion dance, the performers' faces are covered,
• drunken Monkey Drunken Monkey Form or Drunken Monkey Pole Form of Kung Fu is a Chinese martial art, and one of the variations of the Monkey Style

Categories: Chinese martial arts Topics related all Chinese martial arts, also known as kung fu or wushu. Articles should be placed in appropriate subcategories when applicable

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