History of Shou' Shu'

A brief history of Shou' Shu'

A complete history of Shou' Shu' would be the subject of a grand epic. It's past is colorful and deep and can be found in the legends and histories of many great nations. Unfortunately the scope of this work will barely provide us with a synopsis. To do more would require an undertaking of grand proportion for both the author and the reader. I hope that one day it is a project which we can take on.

Researching the history of Shou' Shu' is not an easy task. Throughout history the art has been held tightly guarded within elite groups. At many points in history it was nearly lost but fortunately carried on by a few to be taught to the next generation. During this time it was underground and most thought it no longer existed. For this reason it is sometimes reffered to as "The Lost Art" or "The Secret Art". However it has been carried on and will continue to benefit the human race.

As far as we know, noone has ever put to paper the history of the art. Histories of martial arts as a whole do not mention it. The histories of most modern day martial arts do not intertwine themselves with the history of our art. Most martial arts, and especially Chinese Martial arts, of the modern day evolve from the same place, the shaolin temple. Therefore most histories of martial arts will begin there. To most this is where it all started and all histories will begin there. Our history is much older and gently passes the shaolin temple, but does not enter. For this reason, you will not find mention of our art in the commonly accepted histories of the various forms of kung fu. However the facts of our history can be verified in the histories and legends of many great cultures. Even today archeologists are uncovering symbols which we believe were training aids in our art. Buddhist, Taoist, Hindu and Christian religions alike, all contain bits of our history recorded within their manuscripts.

The Ancient Martial Arts of Egypt

A discussion of the history of Shou' Shu' would need to begin with the history of ancient Egypt. This is where the first written histories of the art exist. Hieroglyphics depict the study of martial arts. They show techniques in picture series just as the popular martial arts magazines do today. They also show depictions of tournament type contests usually held against the Nubians. These tournaments were both open handed and with the staff as a weapon. The hieroglyphics generally show the Egyptians as the winners but they may have had a bit of bias. There are also histories which tell of a race of Nubians which used a very scientific fighting method.

We know that the art was only taught to those within the Pharoahs court. It was never taught to the common man but held as a secret of the Pharoahs and those who protected them. We also know that the first autopsies were done to further the practice of the martial art. It was a practice of the day to use prisoners, whether war prisoners or criminals, as practice opponents. When the prisoner died, his body was cut open to see which strikes had actually caused the most internal damage and the resulting death. This brutal methodology allowed them to either develop further the art or to test its strength, we will probably never know which.

The first written histories are from about 4500 B.C. They tell of the existence of the art but there is much we do not know.. It is hard to say whether this was the beginnings of the art or if it was an already highly developed system of moving. Most historians believe that the art was very basic and consisted mainly of grappling style moves. Basic moves which would rely more on physical strength than skill. However symbols found in ancient drawings are the same symbols we use today to depict certain training drills. Small statues of warriors in training have been found which are unmistakenly very sophisticated stances which only someone highly trained in the art would recognize.

Another important thing that we do not know is whether the art was an animal based system at the time. There is no mention of it but all of the animals that we study were much revered in the culture and religion of the Pharoahs. The mongoose in particular was highly revered and it is an animal known only in our art. In ancient Egypt it was known as the "Pharoahs Mouse". Crocodiles can be found in statues and hieroglyphics and may be the predecessor to the dragon.

The history of Martial arts in Egypt has many holes. There is much that we do not know. Of course there is much that we do not know about that culture as a whole. Hopefully our historians can fill in those holes.

The Warriors of India

The next place we find Shou' Shu' in in the ancient cultures of India. In India it was practiced again by a select group, the high priests and the warriors, the two upper classes of that civilization. However at this time it was not practiced only as a fighting discipline. The art as a whole included the art of Yoga and that of massage. The symbol we use today to signify a student of Shou' Shu' actually has one of its meanings as massage. So the discipline was not only a warriors discipline but also a healers discipline. The motions of the war art are also found in the ancient eighteen Yoga postures. Motions of the cobra are very evident in these postures and some of the same names are even used by todays Yoga practitioners.

The fighting discipline part of this art was called Kalari Payut. It is still practiced today by certain tribes in India. As of yet, we have not detected the animal motions in the motions of the art of these tribes but this is not proof that they do not have it or did not have it. The motions are evident in the Yoga of these tribes.

Due to a lack of written history, little is known of the history of the Indian arts. Much has been passed down as separate but related disciplines in the form of Yoga and massage but little exists as a whole.

The Boddhisaatva Warior

Probably the most important figure in the history of martial arts is Da Mo, the Bodhisaatva warrior. Da Mo has been known by many names in many different cultures. Some of these are Te' Mao, Puti Damo, and Daruma. All refer to a central figure who spread knowledge in several disciplines.

Da Mo was famous for many achievements. According to legend he did many things in his lifetime. Documenting the history of this famous figure would be, and is, the subject of books, not an outline such as this.

Da Mo was a Bodhisaatva. A Bodhisaatva is a budhist term for one who has achieved enlightenment and has chosen to stay among the common people to help them achieve enlightenment. This would be in contrast to a bodhidarma who also has acheived enlightenment but chooses to go on along the path of an ascetic alone.

As a Bodhisaatva, Da Mo, was given the job of teaching Chan Budhism or what is known in Japan as Zen Budhism. Around 550 B.C. he traveled across the Himalayas to explain the teachings of Chan Budhism to the emperor of China. History tells us that the emperor was not happy with the explanation and expelled him from his court.

Now most histories will say that at that time Da Mo traveled to the Shaolin temple and eventually became the abbot of the temple. Upon his arrival at the temple, he found the monks in poor physical condition. In order to strengthen them so that they would be able to carry out their meditations he taught them exercises. He was said to have taught the 18 motions of the Lohan and several other strengthening forms. This is where the histories of martial arts as told by most scholars will begin.

However, this is where the history of our art departs. What is left out of most histories is that there is a thirty year span between the time that Da Mo left the court of the emperor and the time that he entered the Shaolin temple. It was during these thirty years that our art was taught by Da Mo to a select few.

During this time, Da Mo, traveled the Wu Tang Mountains (Not to be confused with Wu Dang, the root of Wu Shu). He chose five disciples worthy of learning the full art of Law Hong Gung, or the monks martial way. He taught the seven animal systems known for their balanced motion and fighting ability. Each of these animals comprised a complete fighting system and combined they formed the most powerful fighting system ever known to man. These animals are: The bear, the tiger, the mongoose, the crane, the mantis, the cobra, and the dragon.

These five disciples were given the responsibility of carrying on these arts for the protection of their country. While each of these disciples went their separate ways and taught their arts, two are very important in our history, Elder Cheng and Elder Chin.

Among the teachings of Da Mo were many forms, exercises and drills. One of those was very important as a meditative exercise. At the time, none of the techniques had names. We do not believe there were any actual ways of referring to them. However, one of importance has become known as "The Snake and Crane Form" or Chin Ye. The snake and crane form, although a fighting form with many fighting techniques associated with it, was mainly used as a Qi Gong form. In other words, a slow meditative form used to strengthen and heal the body and mind. This form used the motions of both the cobra and the crane, two beasts naturally intertwined with one another.

The form held many secrets of both the cobra and the crane. Each motion has associated fighting techniques. It is a long and sophisticated form. Today it is very rare and we do not know of anywhere else it is still taught in its original form.

It is believed that Elder Chin took it upon himself to specialize in this form and teach it to the common people to aid them in the preservation of their health. Over time it lost definition in its weapons. This could be due to the fact that communism outlawed martial arts and all of the masters were either exiled or executed. Or possibly it happened prior to this. This form eventually evolved through different schools into what is now modern day Tai Chi. The Tai Chi forms taught today have evolved into forms very different from that original snake and crane form but if you look very closely and you know what you are looking for you can still see remnants of the old form within them.

We teach a modified portion of this form in our green belt material. Although it is a modified version of the form it still retains the majority of the principles of the original. It has a few of the more sophisticated portions replaced with simplified versions. However this is done on purpose so that the student can concentrate on and perfect a few very important principles of chi development. This modified version we call the handset, and it is this version which was taught to us directly by Da Shifu Al Moore.

Elder Chengs lineage carried the form on in its original form. His family also passed along all of the original animal forms, techniques, drills, and exercises His family continued to pass it along through the generations to pass it along to us today. The original Snake and crane form still exists today. It is practiced in private by our black belts.

The Shaolin Temple

Many think of the Shaolin temple as the beginning, and for most it was. What the Shaolin Temple was, was a melting pot for various strands of the original arts. It was a place of refuge, especially for those who had fought as soldiers. These "unshaved monks" as they were called, were allowed to live and train in the temple to avoid persecution. They blended their military arts with the bits and pieces of Law Hong Gung that were practiced in the temple.

It is important to remember that the training of these soldiers was very different than that of the training of Law Hong Gung. They were trained in a military atmosphere and very quickly. Where a person can study kung fu over a lifetime, soldiers had to learn a fighting art in months to be readied for battle. Therefore a soldiers training was a simplified fighting system which trained for the circumstances that soldier would most likely encounter and trained in a way that could most quickly prepare for that circumstance. Not necessarily trained in a complete and thorough manner. A soldier trains to fight for his leader and is expendable. A martial artist fights for his own preservation and does not normally consider himself expendable. Therefore the arts are very different.

What evolved in the Shaolin system was a combination of the soldiers way, the exercises taught by Da Mo (which were intended as exercises, not fighting arts) and bits and pieces of Law Hong Gung. This came to be known as Chuan Fa.

Mainland China, Okinawa, and Japan

What evolved in the Shaolin Temple eventually spread to the commoners in mainland china and was called Chun Fat . They needed an empty handed fighting system. This part of the history is common and can be found in almost all texts on the fighting arts. From China it spread into Okinawa and practiced there, in Okinawan it was called Kenpo.

Okinawa came under Japanese rule and the art was soon transferred to Japanese hands. However the Japanese had refined the art of swordmaking and had little use for an empty handed system. The art was therefore studied in a rudimentary manner, neglecting the important root principles that still existed. The bear motion formed the foundation for many other arts which soon evolved. What was left of the art was a very basic technique. This motion was very hard and had lost any trace of a Northern flow it had originally had. This was known as Kempo.

Kempo Karate

Kempo Karate as it was called, was then brought to Hawaii. Hawaii had a very strong Japanese influence and the art of Kempo was brought to the Islands by James Mitose. To confuse things further, Grand Master Mitose's family had lived in China where his art of Kempo again derived its influence from Shaolin Chuan Fa, or old Pine tree style.

What does Kempo have to do with Shou Shu?

To be continued

Seven Fighting Animals of Shou' Shu'

The art of Shou' Shu' is a combined animal art. There are actually seven arts that make up this whole. Each of these arts is based upon the fighting motions of an animal. When these seven animal arts are combined, it is called Shou' Shu'. Shou' Shu', meaning "beast knowledge," is the ability to combine all seven arts to hide their individual weaknesses.

Mastery of each individual animal constitues a degree of the overall art of Shou' shu'. So a degree in the art is really mastery of a complete system.

In ancient times the individual beasts were taught first and the combined system afterwards. To meet the needs of the modern practitioner, the combined system is now taught first. This allows us to teach the application from day one. The beginning student learns the system in a combined animal format, however he won't recognize this without prior knowledge of the animals. The pure animals are actually learned later which further develops the combined system taught early on. So the reality is that the eighth degree is taught first, then the other seven. However, without the knowledge of the other seven, the eight degree is not brought to its full potential. As a shifu learns each of the seven beasts, he or she adds this knowledge to the techniques learned in getting to the rank of shifu, giving each one further meaning.

While there are other animal systems of Kung Fu, from what we have seen, these are very different from the animal systems of Shou' Shu'. The Shou' Shu' Shifu concentrates on learning how each animal creates its power. Each animal uses a different way of applying physics.

By studying each animal individually, one can master the highly complex motions distinct to those animals. By studying them individually and fully realizing the strengths of each, the practitioner can seemlessly switch between them or integrate several together to form a completely new motion. If the practitioner were capable of only applying one beast at a time he would have the limitations of that animal. By combining all, the limitations are removed.

The seven animals are: