Eagle Claw

The traditional Chinese martial art known as Eagle Claw (Ying Jow Pai 鷹爪派) is one of the
oldest and most complex of the surviving Northern Shaolin kung fu systems.

Along with the long strikes and kicks that typify Northern systems, the Eagle Claw system is
distinguished by its powerful gripping techniques and intricate system of locks, takedowns, and
pressure point strikes, which represent one of the oldest forms of the Chinese grappling known
as Chin Na.

History

The story of Eagle Claw is a classic tale of the development of a traditional martial art. While the
details of the history alter according to the teller, with names and places shifting as they tend to
do in any oral history, in essence the story of Eagle Claw began in the Shaolin temple and in
Chinese military training, became a family tradition passed on from parent to child for
generations, and eventually shed its air of secrecy with the advent of public martial arts schools.

Ngok Fei and Lai Chin

Eagle Claw is said to have had its origins in 1130, at a time of warfare between the Southern
Song Dynasty and the Jurchen in the north, who were the ancestors of the Manchus and
founders of the Jin Dynasty. The man said to be the most famous and brilliant general of the
Southern Song dynasty was named Ngok Fei (Yue Fei in Mandarin).

According to popular legend, during his training, Ngok Fei had learned and developed a system
of hand techniques from his archery teacher, Zhou Tong. Known as the yī bǎi ling bā qín ná
(一百零八擒拿 – “108 Seize-Grab”) techniques, they were supposedly based on a much older system
only known as “Elephant”, and focused on seizing, locking, and pressure point strikes. These
108 techniques became the staple of his new style called
Ying Kuen
(鷹拳 - "Eagle Boxing") or
Ying Sao
(鷹手 - "Eagle Hand"), which he taught to his soldiers in the Yue Family Army.

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In Chinese, elephant is pronounced Xiàng (象). However, the same character can also mean
"shape, form, or appearance". The elephant style in question is a mistranslation of
xiang
, which actually refers to
Xiang Xing Quan
(象形拳 - "Imitation Boxing"), a fighting technique which emphasizes the imitation of the
offensive and defensive actions of a certain animal or person.

Long after Yue Fei’s death, which some histories describe as a political execution, his
techniques survived through military practice. Then during the Ming Dynasty, a monk named Lai
Chin (麗泉) encountered soldiers practicing the hand techniques of Eagle Fist (although some
histories name Lai Chin as the monk who taught Ngok Fei). [citation needed] Lai Chin was already
master of his own Northern kung fu system, known as Fānziquán. Realizing that his system
could be strengthened by adding the hand techniques of Eagle Fist, he decided to blend the
two, creating the core of the modern system known as
yīng zhuǎ fān zi quán
(鷹爪翻子拳 – “Eagle Claw Tumbling Boxing”) or Northern Eagle Claw. With a few additions from the
traditional Northern Shaolin systems of kung fu, including weapons techniques, it is the system
studied and practiced today.

Further research offers another possible avenue of discourse, in that it was Liu Si Chun, and
allready accomplished Master of Faan Tzi Chaun, who then learned eagle claw boxing via a
monk from shaolin temple, combining the two to create Ying Jow Faan Tzi Mun as it is known
today

The Ching Mo Association

The system remained restricted to monks until the 1800s, when knowledge of the Eagle Claw
system passed from the monks to a lay student of the Lau family Lau Si Chun(Liu Si Chun). The
Lau family then maintained the knowledge of the system within the family for generations. It was
not until the 1910s that the Eagle Claw system reached a wider audience, through Eagle Claw's
most famous master, Chan Tzi Ching (陳子正).

At the time, Chan Tzi Ching was known as a formidable fighter. The stories surrounding him
claimed that he never used more than three techniques to defeat an opponent, and that he
could get full power from a three-inch punch. He was instrumental in spreading knowledge of

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Eagle Claw and other martial arts among the public, most of all by his role in founding, along
with kung fu master Fok Yuen Gaap, the Ching Mo Association in Shanghai.

The Association was an athletic society, originating in Shanghai and later expanding to Hong
Kong. Teachers of varied styles, including Eagle Claw, Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu, and
Tai Chi Chuan, gathered at its gymnasiums to train students and spread knowledge of martial
arts. But although the government of Chiang Kai-shek encouraged the learning and
dissemination of traditional Chinese martial arts, a few decades later, the communist
government banned their practice. As part of China’s Cultural Revolution, the government killed
or expelled its martial arts masters.

Although the martial arts all but disappeared within China, to be replaced by a more
performance-oriented wushu, training in traditional fighting arts such as Eagle Claw continued in
Taiwan and Hong Kong, where the masters had fled. From Hong Kong, Eagle Claw masters
went on to open schools to disseminate knowledge of the art in other countries, including the
United States, where several masters in Eagle Claw currently teach the system in various
forms.

Modern masters

Controversy over lineage, authority, and authenticity are par for the course in modern martial
arts, and Eagle Claw is no exception. What is clear is that there are (4) main branches of Eagle
Claw in the United States that trace their lineage directly to the Ching Mo Association. Only a
few can trace thier roots back to the birthplace of eagle claw in Northern China,

Lau Fat Man (劉法孟) branch (student of both Lau Kai man (劉啓文) & Chan Tzi Ching) being
preserved by his family (Lily, Gini and James Lau). The Lau sisters enjoyed careers in the
Peking Opera and martial arts films before turning their attention to teaching, opening schools
on the West Coast of the U.S. and forming their own organizations. James Lau was a famous
fight choreographer/director in Taiwan, now reloacted to the USA. Gini Lau's organiziation now
extends through the UK and Europe under her student Julian Dale.

Julian Dale has conducted a number of research trips to the birthplace of Eagle Claw Kung Fu
in Hebei in China, to find the system very much alive and flourishing

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Ng Wai Nung branch (he was a student of both Chan Tzi Ching and Lau Fat man): being
preserved in the US by his godson Shum Leung and his Sons Ng Quan Pok & Ng Quan Bik in
Hong Kong.The First person to introduce eagle claw to the USA was one of Lau Fat Mang's
disciples (Arthur Hill) following ill health of Arthur Hills Shum Leung eventually took over the
Eagle Claw school in New York City in 1974, where it continued to flourish and is now the
headquarters of the Shum Leungs Ying Jow Pai Association. Some of his more famous
students are the forms champion Benson Lee, now teaching in California, and martial arts film
stars Cynthia Rothrock, Steven Tartalia (Once Upon a Time in China), and Kenneth Edwards
(Mortal Kombat). Leung Shum’s Eagle Claw schools also teach the Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan
that Ng Wai Nung learned at the Ching Mo Association.in the mid 90s a student of Leung
Shum,Thomas Torres opened the first Ying Jow pai school(from the Ng wai nung/Chan Tzi
ching branch)in florida Puerto Rico. Anthony Arvelo becomes the first student of ying jow Pai in
the island,and is the first to get the rank of sifu.later in the late 90s Master Julio Perez also a
student of Leung Shum opens Two other Schools in Puerto Rico.

Zhang Zhan Ming (under Zhang Zhan Wen/Chian Jin man) branch is represented by Sing Chui
in Denver.

Another claim to Eagle Claw lineage comes from the Bak Shaolin Eagle Claw system, headed
by Leung Fu. Originally from Peurto Rico with Malaysian heritage on his mothers side, Leung
Fu trained in Malaysia where he trained Northern Shaolin, Hung Sing Choy Lay Fut and Eagle
Claw, he became a British subject, trained Eagle Claw in Hong Kong under James Lau Chi Kin
for a number of years, it is here that he also learned Hung Gar through Chan Hon Chung and
also monkey boxing via Chan Sau Chung,. His organization now includes schools in many
different countries and is known in America for its success in sport competition fighting.

A "Martial Arts Hero Class Athlete" and national wushu champion of the Peoples
Republic of China, Sifu Luo Li was bestowed the title "King of Eagle Claw." No one
else can claim this title. He immigrated to the United States and teaches modern and traditional
martial arts (O-mei) in Florida.

In Greece, an Eagle Claw teacher by the name of Guo Cheng Yao (郭成堯) also traces lineage
from Chan Tzi Ching, through his student and son Guo Xian He (郭憲和).

According to Grandmaster Leung Shum, when China began in the 1980s to reintroduce the
practice of its traditional martial arts, it invited masters from around the world to return and

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teach. During his trip to China, along with other masters, he attempted to find whether any
Eagle Claw practitioners still existed in China. According to Leung Shum, the only Eagle Claw
practitioner the group managed to find had not practiced in over 30 years. While there is a
modern wushu Eagle form, it bears very little resemblance to the techniques of the traditional
Eagle Claw system.

The English terms "master" and "grandmaster" are often misapplied to

formal Chinese titles in the traditional martial arts. While there are rigorous requirements in such
schools for an instructor to earn the right to be called Lao Shih or Sifu, sometimes translated as
master; a grandmaster is
usually a master's teacher, as a grandfather is a father's father. Some prefer to use the English
title grandmaster to designate the ultimate founder of a particular style. Since the introduction of
martial arts movies to the West and the popularity of such dramatic fictions among aficionados
of hip-hop culture, many would-be martial artists without the benefit of a formal teaching
structure will call themselves
grandmasters
even if they just like the sound of the term.

Training

The Eagle Claw system is taught differently by different teachers and different branches.
Because Eagle Claw was primarily taught through the Ching Mo Association, training generally
includes a number of standard northern kung fu forms and techniques taught to all practitioners
at the Association, alongside the elements specific to the Eagle Claw system.

The system includes fist forms, weapon forms, partner sets, and the 108 locking hand
techniques. The range of traditional Chinese weapons are covered, including the long staff,
spear, double pointed spear, kwan do (or halberd), saber, sword, hooked swords, three-section
staff, daggers, fan, short stick, and chain or whip.

Ranking and class structure

As in most traditional Chinese martial arts, because Eagle Claw was passed among monks and
within one family, there was originally no need for structured classes and rankings. Teachers

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simply taught students the part of the system that seemed right for that student at that time, and
students warmed up and practiced on their own. The system was taught very slowly, in
comparison to today’s quick pace. Rigorous training generally began with drilling the
fundamentals. A student could spend months practicing a single stance.

Today, students learn a set curriculum of fundamentals, techniques, and forms at a much faster
pace. In a nod to modern popular practices for martial arts schools in the West, students now
also test for colored sashes representing their rank. The specific spectrum of sashes and the
requirements vary by teacher, since the practice of testing and ranking is relatively new to the
system. However not all schools use a modern sash system, some still sork to the old methods
of using simply levels of development, i.e beginner, intermediate, advanced, etc

Perhaps in emulation of the renowned traditional way of earning respect and rank by
demonstrating skill in fighting, students must show skill in sparring with students of higher rank
to earn their sashes. See above

Training begins with exercises to build strength and flexibility as well as the Eagle Claw
foundation:

- stances
- proper punching and blocking
- basic kicking and footwork
- clawing techniques
- controlling the breath

Structured classes begin with group stretching and exercises, then move to forms practice.
Eagle Claw practitioners also need basic practice in gymnastics to be able to perform the rolls,
flips, and jumping kicks of the system. Sparring is also an essential part of both the training and
the testing process.

Because the dramatic acrobatics and precise footwork of Eagle Claw depend highly upon the
flexibility of the student, it is said that the ideal age to begin training is in childhood or
adolescence. Starting early also gives the student a greater chance of learning the system in its
entirety, since the range of techniques it encompasses is vast.

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Purpose

Many people today study martial arts primarily as sport or exercise, for fun or health. Even so,
Eagle Claw’s main historical emphasis has been on fighting. In particular, its seizing and locking
techniques have genuine value for self-defense in close encounters. However, the antiquated
weaponry of ancient China has little to no value for modern military practice and is unlikely to
come in handy in a self-defense situation. Instead, weapons training has become more
performance-oriented and a way to build strength and coordination. That said, with a proper
understanding of handling weaponry it is perfectly possible to translate the weapon practices of
a system such as this to almost any everyday object with great effectiveness. An emphasis on
the understanding of weapon handling in this context can be found in the art of ninjutsu where it
is of vital importance to be adaptable to any situation.

While many Eagle Claw practitioners do participate in martial arts competitions, the range of
techniques they can use in actual sport sparring are limited. Most of the techniques that
characterize Eagle Claw, such as grabs for the throat and joints, are banned in sport sparring.
Forms practice, however, is one place where Eagle Claw practitioners can excel, since its
acrobatic flips and jumping kicks give the performer plenty of opportunity to display his or her
skill.

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