Interview with Master Qu

Master Qu Hai is a native of Yantai, birthplace of Praying Mantis kung fu. He is a 9th generation master of Taiji-Meihua Mantis, and a disciple of Li Kun Shan’s grandson, Zhang Bing Dou. He has practiced mantis since his early teens and is also a qualified Tui Na massage therapist and acupuncturist.




Shifu, could you please talk about your experience learning kung fu:



Well, when I was young, I was always interested in kung fu, and Shandong being the home of mantis, it was only natural that I chose it. I began training in basics and forms with a local master, but he was very busy and so recommended I follow a master in Qingdao, Zhang Bing Dou.



We would train in the evenings in Masters house, training was very slow and repetitive, we would get one move and just work that until Master was happy, then he would give us another one. Sometimes he would just send us home to work on one move and tell us to come back next month, then he would look at it and say its not good enough, go back and practice! Also, my master wanted to test you, to see what kind of person you are. You have to have a good character, and strong resolve. He won’ tell you anything for a long time, just make you repeat. Maybe after a period of time he will tell you what you’re doing wrong. You see, in kung fu, you must think for yourself, its not just about asking your master all the time.



For the first year, I just worked on basics, then forms. Later, I learnt paired practice, weapons and qigong. Forms are very important; they must be done with intent. It’s this intent that separates kung fu from mere wu shu. We would take single moves from forms and repeat them over and over again. If we didn’t understand an application, Master would make us spar, just using this one move. We never had mats on the ground or gloves like you guys. You can’t be afraid of being hit. Forms and sparring are interconnected, there is a saying: “spar like you’re doing a form, do a form like you’re sparring.” This is very important.



Shifu, how did you come to learn Ba Gua?



After studying mantis for a long time and having a high level, I felt like I wanted to broaden my horizons. I began to meet with people from other styles to exchange ideas with them. I took an interest in Wuxing Tongbei and Da Cheng Quan (Yi Quan). Later, I began to read about Ba Gua Zhang. After contacting a master named Wang Shang Zhi on the internet, I travelled to Beijing to meet him. We met in a park and discussed kung fu. I felt that he had a very high level and deep understanding, and I really liked his kung fu. So I spent three years living in his home studying Yin style Ba Gua. Master Wang made and sold redwood furniture, sometimes I would help him with his work. When we trained, I was often paired up with a huge guy, who was very strong. I had to use my brain to be clever. I couldn’t defeat him with brute force. Our master focused a lot on paried practice, and feeling the opponent. We learnt through doing and feeling, rather than explanations. The point was that if you got hit, you learnt something. Maybe your guard was down, maybe you left yourself open. So you wouldn’t do that again. Slowly you would learn and improve.



There is much talk about the differences between internal and external kung fu, what are your thoughts?



Actually there is no difference really. The names “internal” and “external” came about after the twentieth century. You must have internal and external together, internal power comes from correct body mechanics, and from intent. When you practice forms, you must have the intent of fighting. Don’t just do the movements, imagine there is an opponent, make your movements fast and flow together. In a fight you don’t stop after each punch, the same in forms. You can do three or four movements within one body movement. This is real kung fu, its not step 1, step 2, step 3 like you see in a magazine. That is just a beginner’s level. Also, you must use muscular power together with intent; you need to train power. Take Taiji for instance, most people think its all soft and powerless, in fact real Taiji training is tough and has high demands for power training. All kung fu is the same, you need a strong body to generate power, and you need intent to use your power.



Shifu, I find it difficult to explain mantis to people, it’s quite an eclectic style:



Well, basically, mantis takes the principles of how a praying mantis will catch it’s pray as a foundation. As mantis was created quite late, it was able to further absorb the strong points of other styles to add to this foundation. It is heavily influenced by Chang Quan, Tongbei Quan, Taiji Quan as well as others. The body must move as a whole unit, using circular movements, half circles and spirals, as well as the unity of opposites, such as forward and backwards, opening and closing etc.



And what about the differences between the different branches:



In fact, in the beginning, there was no separation of different branches. Liu He (6 harmonies) mantis was created fairly early, it has a different syllabus and principles to the other branches. Qi Xing (7 stars) and Taiji separated much later, and in fact the similarities are greater than the differences. Taiji and Meihua is pretty much the same thing, its only personal preferences as to the name used. Qi Xing uses the principle of body parts relating the 7 stars (the big dipper), and that these 7 parts should move in union. Taiji uses the principles of Yin and Yang, or opposites, like left and right, forward and backward, so that the body moves harmoniously and generates the most power. Meihua refers the footwork and hand methods; that they move in a plum blossom shape, attacking the opponent from different sides. All the styles have long and short, hard and soft, the principles are the same. It’s just like if I teach 5 of you, you will have Will mantis, Eric mantis, etc, you all have your own characteristics.



Shifu, how did you come to learn Chinese medicine?



In fact, my first master suffered from a bad lower back, so I wanted to learn massage to help him. Later, my interest grew and I saw how deep it is. I went to Jinan and later to Beijing, to gain my qualifications in Chinese medicine.



Finally, Shifu, can you tell me what you think the benefits of Mantis are:



Well, it can harmonise your body, kung fu exercises your body as a whole. Not only that but it is good for self defence, health preservation and making yourself stronger in body and mind. It can help you to become a better person, improve your heart and mind. You will be able to face whatever challenges life throws at you with a very peaceful and calm mind. You won’t be so stressed and worried, and will have more confidence in yourself.



Shifu, thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge with us!

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An Introduction to the Styles I Study

I thought Id write a little about the styles I learn here. I mainly focus on Mantis, Ba Gua and Qigong, and also do some Taiji and Xingyi.

Mantis:
The lineage of Mantis we practice is Taiji Meihua Mantis, and is local to this area. Mantis was said to be created around the east of Shandong province, particularly Yantai city. Mantis is a combination of internal and external Kung Fu, and it is quite aggressive. In Mantis, we defend by attacking, moving forward into the opponent with vicious attacks and low kicks and sweeps. When striking, the whole body twists to generate power from the back foot up through the waist to the fist. We use a lot of leg sweeps and takedowns as well. In Training we spend a lot of time on basics movements, particularly footwork and developing lower body power. We also train forms and applications, like punch combos, takedowns etc. A good stance and agile footwork is important. Master Qu is very methodical in his teaching, in 1 lesson we may only practice 2 techniques over and over. Also, once we learn a basic movement and can do it well, then we learn different ways to apply it, and also how to follow on from it, counter it etc.

Ba Gua Zhang:
The lineage of Ba Gua we practice is Yin style Ba Gua. Ba Gua is only 100 or so years old and was developed in Beijing. We spend a lot of time on circle walking, which is the foundation. It teaches you to be able to evade attacks, move behind the opponent and deal with multiple attackers. We also practice other basics, our forms and applications. A lot of the applications are locks, throws, takedowns and sometimes it resembles Aikido or something. You have to have a loose and flexible waist, which at the same time is strong. Ba Gua is based on the 8 trigrams in Taoist metaphysics. The 8 trigrams were are an ancient Chinese way of explaining change in the universe and so in Ba Gua they correspond to the 8 palm changes, which are the fundamentals of Ba Gua.

Qigong:
Master Guo teaches the Qigong classes. Qigong is a practice which harnesses, increases and develops your Qi, or your bodies natural energies. The main kind of Qigong we practice is standing meditation, which we do for 15 minutes to an hour. We learn how to focus our Qi into our lower Dan Tian, which is a point in the lower belly, and once you begin to accumulate Qi there, you can harness it to increase your power, fight disease, and at high levels even more esoteric things. We also practice several kinds of moving Qigong to circulate the Qi around our bodies and focus it to different places for different effects. Ive started praticing Hong Sha Zhang, which concentrates your Qi in the palms of your hands, and makes them feel hot and turn red. It can be used heal, or also to inflict heavy internal injury on someone. Ive not got very far yet though. We also do iron palm and iron body conditioning, so that we can break bricks, rocks etc with our hands and take strong kicks to our back, ribs and legs (most of the masters here can have thick wooden poles broken over their bodies).

Taiji and Xingyi:
I dont study these in detail so Il just mention a little. Ive completed the basics Yang style 24 form in Taiji and progressed on to learning the Chen style Taiji forms. Chen style is the original style of Taiji and uses really low stances, flowing movements and sudden bursts of power, so it can complement other arts if as well as mastered alone. Xingyi is an explosive internal art. I has some similarities to Wing Chun in that is uses short explosive movements in a straight line. Again, Im only really learning the forms, not the full style.

My first month of training at Kunyu Shan

Ive just completed my first month training here. I feel like Im really getting to grips with the basics of mantis and have started my first form. Ba Gua on the other hand is much slower as we only do one day a week of it and its a slow-to-learn style anyway.

Im really getting into Qigong too. I do at least half an hour of standing meditation a day, Ive done a few sessions of an hour. Master Guo says if I want to make real progress then I should do at the very least an hour at a time. The bare mininum should be 30 minutes as that is the time it takes the blood to circulate round the body once. Master Guo told me that when he was my age, he was doing 2 sessions of 2 hours standing and 1 session of 1 hour sitting meditation a day, and could go a week without eating! So I have a long way to go! Im beginning to get a strong feeling of the Qi in my Lao Gong points (centre of the palm of the hand) and Im also getting a feeling, although not so strong, in my lower Dan Tian (the abdomen). Once I accumulate enough Qi in the lower Dan Tian, I can move change my focus to the middle Dan Tian (solar plexus) and then upper Dan Tian (third eye). Once all these points are open then supposedly you can begin to develop some kind of powers, such as healing, or psychic abilities, although you shouldnt focus on developing these, they are your natural potential and they will happen naturally. I dont know about this, but I have much better clarity of mind, and there are times when I can sense things will happen and it turns out right.

Ive been going to the weekly Buddhist classes, and sometimes Im the only one there as its on a Friday night. Master Wang, who is from Shaolin gives the class and he oftens talks about his personal experience of life at Shaolin, which is really interesting. We think our training is tough, its like a holiday camp compared to their life. They trained most of the day, and "rest" periods were usually spent doing work, like carrying supplies up the mountain, cleaning etc. If they misbehaved the masters would beat them and make them stand facing a wall for long periods of time. Master Wang is also a world Sanda (Chinese freefighting) champion and he has a certain presence about him that commands the respect of everyone.

All the masters here are unique and worthy of respect. My master, Master Qu, is also a Chinese doctor, and is really strict during class, but also likes a joke and really cares about us. He learnt Kung Fu the real traditional way, and is in a direct lineage from the Laiyang San Shan, 3 masters all with Shan (mountain) in their name. They were the greatest masters of Mantis Kung Fu. He is also highle skilled in Ba Gua, the other style he teaches and is also in a direct lineage of Yin style Ba Gua. He teaches us a good balance of lots of basics, training drills like pad work, sensitivity drills etc, forms and conditioning.

Kung Fu Training at Kunyu Shan mountains, China

Ive just completed my first full weeks training here (here being Kunyu mountains njear Yantai, Shadong province). Im learning 2 systems, Mantis and Ba Gua Zhang and taking extra classes in Qigong twice a day and some bits of Taiji and Xingyi. The school is set at the just outside a national park, in the mountains, so the environment is really peaceful and the air is fresh. There are 4 masters at the school, 2 of them Shaolin monks, called Big Wang and Little Wang, and the other 2 are Master Qu, who is my main master, for Mantis and Ba Gua and Master Guo, who teaches Wing Chun and Ba Ji, he teaches the Qigong and other optional classes. There are about 30 students here, from UK, France, Belgium, Australia, South Africa, America, Canada and other places.

The training is much better than I expected, I was a little worried it would be a lot of Wushu forms and acrobatics and no real Kung Fu, but actually, it is exactly what I wanted. My Mantis class has just 6 of us, and Master Qu is a really good master. He is friendly and caring, but at the same time, is very strict and has high standards. Everyone here comments that Mantis class is of a high standard. Master Qu is in his 30s, but looks much younger, he is strict in class, people who mess around or swear have to do 40 push ups or hold horse stance for 5 minutes, and is someone is slacking, he gives them a little slap or whack with his bamboo cane. We have a good balance of physical conditioning and technical training. We spend a lot of time on basics, sometimes in an hour and a half session, we will work on 2 or 3 basic movements, first just doing them in the air, then on the punch bags, then as a partner drill. Afternoons we often do more application work, learning how to use our basics or forms. We do 2 or 3 mile runs a week, then Friday we run up and down the mountain 4 times, which is hell. We have a power training session, which is like strength training, we do things like doing basic movements or holding stances with bricks in our hands, practicing our grip strength on wooden poles and whatever other pain Master Qu wants us to go through. We also have a power stretching session, where you hold a stretch as deeply as you can, then someone pushes you even further, ignoring your screams and holds is for a minute, it feels so good after though! Then we do forearm and shin toughening on trees and learn to take kicks to different parts of the body.
The only downside here is that Id like to do more Ba Gua, we do Mantis 4 days a week and Ba Gua only 1. Ba Gua is a good style for me because Im small, and its all about evasion and moving round the opponent, so its good for multiple attackers. It works on redirecting force through circles and getting behind the opponent for takedowns, chokes etc.


I really enjoy the Qigong class with Master Guo. He is really friendly and approachable and seems to always smile. His Qigong is his own families system, which is very effective. We do it twice a day, standing for half an hour, the first 10 minutes we focus on the Qi in our Lao Gong points, which are in the centre of your hand, you have to build up a magnetic feeling between your palms by moving them together and apart, and when you get it, it feels great. Then, you move your focus to your lower Dan Tian, in your belly, which is where the Qi is stored. You can feel a warm and inflated feeling there. One day a week, we learn Hard Qi Gong, which is how to use your Qi to break bricks and things, which will take a while for me to get the hang of before I really try! Then we do Taiji every morning with him, although its pretty much just the form, and we do Xingyi Quan twice a week in the afternoon after Qigong, I like doing it, but I think he only really teaches the basics as its an extra class. Master Guos internal power is amazing, apparently a few weeks before I came, the Masters gave a performance, and Master Guo broke a marble slab, balanced on tofu, with 2 fingers. Although he broke 1 finger in the process, but then he used Qigong and healed it in a week.


Weve also had theory classes in the evenings, learning massage, acupuncture theory, Buddhism, Taoism, Kung Fu theory, history and philosophy and calligraphy. I really enjoy the training here and highly recommend Kunyu Shan to anybody serious about Kung Fu training.