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Eddie Chong - Fushan White Eyebrow (Bak Mei) DVD Set
Original Fushan Bak Mei. Forms and Applications in detail. The set is composed by 7 tapes (On 2 DVDs). Each tape covers the form and its combat application completely. The forms are: Sub Jee, Fa Pao, Chut Dim Mui Fa, Sub Bat Ding Jeung, Sub Bat Moi Kiu, Gou Bo Tui, andamp; Fu Bo.
Extracted from "Futshan Bak Mei", by Robert Chu:
"As Sifu Eddie Chong was training in Fushan with Grandmaster Pan Nam, he was introduced to a fellow training brother, Lee Yung Gien (Li Yong Jian) and discussed the latter's expertise in the Bak Mei Pai system. After numerous years of dedicated study in Fushan Bak Mei, it is now introduced in the United States by Eddie Chong, who received complete endorsement to teach by his Sifu and training brother, Lee Yung Gien.
The Fushan Bak Mei system traces its origin to Fung Fou Dao Yan (Wind Fire Daoist). Since his real name is not known, nor who he was in his layman life, it's not known if there is a connection with Cheung Lei Chuen, commonly known among Bak Mei practitioners who trace their lineage back to Hong Kong. Research is a difficult task, since even the background and curriculum of Cheung Lei Chuen's 18 schools in Southern China (prior to the Communist takeover) varies, and there even exist branches in Vietnam. However, it is known that Fung Fou Dao Yan handed down the system to his disciple in Fushan named Lau Siu Leung. Lau Siu Leung was a very selective teacher and only passed down his Bak Mei to people of good moral character. One of his selected disciples was Lee Yung Gien in Fushan, who passed on the art to Eddie Chong.
The motto of Bak Mei is to chain movements of heavy strikes, using the straight to go out and receiving with the horizontal, using complementary powers generated by the body and combining offense and defense as one.
The six powers of Bak Mei include straight, pulling, raising, sinking, whirling and splattering. Practitioners are advised to use the spirit, intention, breath and power. The form is round and practitioners are advised for leading and calmness when practicing.
It emphasizes the tiger form motions and the structure of the body and the steps to make it practical. The movements are small and precise, yet are light, sharp, circular and alive.
Body motions including floating, sinking, swallowing and spitting are evident in this art. The four body motions emphasize power executed in an upwards, sinking, pushing outwards and drawing inwards and are the major source of power for this art. When combined with one another and varied in direction, duration and intent, the different powers are manifested and the practitioner can use "Fa Jing" (explosive force) in many ways. Throughout the branches of Bak Mei, there are some 40 empty hand routines in White Eyebrow. It is conceivable that some of these sets may have been added in from influences in other systems, and principles from Bak Mei have been added into sets from other systems. Also, certain forms were created to emphasize different points or to emphasize a particular body type or limitation. What counts is the development of power and to know how to use and apply the movements in the core sets you know.
Sifu Chong teaches a core group of sets that include: Sup Ji Kuen, Fa Pao, Chut Dim Mui Fa, Gou Bo Tui, Sup Ba and Fu Bo Kuen. These are practiced emphasising relaxed or soft movements, or at full power. From the sets, San Sao (Separate hands) are extrapolated and used during two man prearranged sparring, Mor Kiu (sticking hands) and free fighting practice. Practice is often done at a quick pace with combat speed, as it helps a practitioner develop timing, positioning and the reflexes needed in combat situations. Sifu Chong has added in a dimension of training from his many years of experience in Wing Chun Kuen and teaches many of the Bak Mei applications throughout the platform of Wing Chun's Luk-Sao (rolling hands practice) and Chi-Sao (sticking hands).
Bak Mei practitioners believe one must attack the outer gate of the opponent. They call this principle "Boon Bien Lien" (Half Face Attaching), which is to attack the opponent's flank on a consistent basis, where he is weakest and unable to defend. Since the system is a close quarters combat art, there is a strong emphasis on bridge crossing. An adage of Bak Mei is, "If there is a bridge, cross over; if there is no bridge, touch and feel". The stance is used to trap the opponent's leg and control it in case of leg attacks."
Extracted from the Wing Chun Pedia:
Bak Mei is included in the Wing Chun Pedia because a number of Wing Chun families and lineages contain Bak Mei Kung Fu in them.
Bak Mei (literally White Eyebrows; also known as Pai Mei, Pei Mei, Bai Mei, Pak Mei) is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders - survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty imperial regime (1644ÎC1912) - who, according to some accounts, betrayed Shaolin to the imperial government. He shares his name with the Southern Chinese martial art attributed to him.
Bak Mei has been fictionalized in Hong Kong films such as Hung Hsi-Kuan (1977), Shao Lin ying xiong bang (1979), and Hung wen tin san po pai lien chiao (1980). In these movies, Bak Mei was played by Lo Lieh, who also directed the 1980 film. Recently, Bak Mei is better known in the West as Pai Mei (the Wade-Giles romanization of his name in Mandarin), played by Gordon Liu in the Hollywood film Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004).
White Eyebrow, Traitor?
Accounts of the Five Elders are many and varied. Some versions identify the traitor not as Bak Mei, but as Ma Ning-Yee. In other versions, Bak Mei and Ma Ning-Yee both betray Shaolin, sometimes joined by Fung Do-Duk. Still other versions say that Bak Mei is a nickname for either Ma Ning-Yee or Fung Do-Duk. For that matter, the stories of the Five Elders may have no basis in historical fact at all, and come solely from wuxia novels like Wan Nian Qing and the mythology of anti-Qing organizations such as the Heaven and Earth Society, which were spreading wildly through China in the early 19th century. Whether justified or not, Bak Mei's traitorous reputation has led to real life animosity between practitioners of his namesake martial art and practitioners of arts identified with those whom he is accused of betraying. In the accounts of some Bak Mei's practitioners, their founder did not so much betray Shaolin as decline to join their rebellion against the Qing. Other tales portray Bak Mei as having been banished from Shaolin Temple because he killed several of his fellow monks when he first tried out his new style. Some Bak Mei practitioners embrace their founder's reputation as a murderer of Shaolin disciples as proof of the superiority of their style.
Historical Bak Mei
Historical Bak Mei according to the lineage of Grand Master Nam Anh
Bak Mei played an important part in the downfall of Shaolin temples. Manchu conquered China in 1644. Before then, China had been ruled by the Ming Dynasty, which had been weakened by internal corruption and rebellion. The Manchu dynasty became known as the Qing Dynasty. As part of the Manchu campaign to pacify China, they attacked some Buddhist Shaolin Temples. The leader of the Shaolin Temple, Hong Mei (Red Eyebrows) died, leaving his legacy to Chi Thien Su, also known as Jee Sin, one of the five Great Kung Fu Masters. According to some stories another such master, Chu Long Tuyen, the monk who would later become Bak Mei, did not accept this. He believed the Ming had become corrupt and Chi Thien Su would still serve them; Bak Mei would rather serve the foreign Qing Dynasty. Then came the attack against the Shaolin Temple at Quanzhou in Fujian province in 1647. Some sources indicate that this temple was actually in Henan, or that the invading forces recruited help from Tibetan warriors in the attack.
The Five Elders survived, however, and soon Chi Thien Su would found a second Shaolin Temple at Nine Lotus Mountain, also in Fujian Province. The Five Kung Fu Masters survived the first destruction of the Shaolin Temple by Qing Imperial forces and sought shelter in another temple, Fujian Temple, but the other monks were massacred. After Bak Mei refused to provide his real name for fear of retribution (against his family and students - if they survived), the Abbott of the temple christened the monk Bak Mei - White Eyebrow. According to some stories, Bak Mei betrayed the Ming at this point, taking information about their plot against the Manchu to the Manchu Shunzhi Emperor, then returned with information about the Manchu attack plan to the Shaolin. After the temple was destroyed by the Manchu, Bak Mei left the temple to study Taoism. Bak Mei trained an anti-Imperial attack force but following capture of the force by the Imperials, was forced to teach and lead 50,000 Imperial troops in the second destruction of the Shaolin Temple at Henan to prevent those captured with him from being tortured and killed. There, Bak Mei slew the invincible Shaolin leader, Chi Thien Su, in single combat by breaking his neck. He claimed he did this to prevent the massacre of the monks in the temple by the troops who followed him.
The tale of Bak Mei's death comes in many forms - it is often claimed that he was poisoned, or slain (in a grand battle) by other martial artists. Bak Mei is often portrayed as a traitor, however, it is important to note that Bak Mei's actions are not always consistent with this. Bak Mei's actions were undertaken, even to the destruction of the temple, with the intention of preventing harm to those who had chosen to follow him. It is possible that if Bak Mei had not aided the Imperial forces, his followers would have been tortured to death.
Historical Bak Mei according to the lineage of master Jie Kon Sieuw
During the reign of the Qing emperor Kangxi (1662 - C1722), the warriors of the Xilufan revolt were so feared that the 2 ministers Kangxi ordered to end their attacks fled China rather than face either the mercilessness of the Xilu warriors, which often involved beheading, or the displeasure of the emperor, which often involved beheading.
It was the 128 monks of the southern Shaolin temple who defeated the army of Xilu over 3 months in 1673 without suffering a single casualty. However, by doing so the monks had made enemies of those in the Qing army and Qing court who were embarrassed by how easily the Shaolin monks had succeeded where they had failed. Soon rumors began to spread about the threat posed by a power so great that it defeated the entire Xilu army with a force of only 128 monks. This campaign of innuendo was wasted on Kangxi, who remained grateful to the monks, but the rumors had their intended effect on his successor, the emperor Yongzheng (1722-C1735), who ordered the temple's destruction.
In 1723, on the 6th day of the first new moon of the lunar calendar, Qing forces launched a sneak attack on the southern Shaolin temple, which began by bombarding the largely wooden monastery with a relentless deluge of burning arrows. Between the surprise attack, the fire, and the overwhelming number of Qing soldiers, 110 out of the 128 monks were killed that day. The Great Shaolin Purge took 70 days as Qing forces hunted down the 18 survivors. The surviving warrior monks of Shaolin inflicted massive casualties on their Qing pursuers but, in the end, their numbers were too great. Soon only five remained:
- The Chan (Zen) master Jee Sin (Vietnamese: Chi Thien Su)
- The nun Ng Mui (Vietnamese: Nou Mei)
- The Taoist Bak Mei (Vietnamese: Pei Mei)
- The Taoist Fung Do-Duk (Vietnamese: Phung Dao Duc)
- The unshaved (lay) Shaolin disciple Miu Hin (Vietnamese: Mieu Hien)
After 2 years of running and hiding from the Qing army these fugitives of the cloth regrouped at Mount Emei in Sichuan Province. As one of the sacred mountains of China, Mount Emei was home to about 70 monasteries and temples where the five clerics could blend in easily.
It was decided that Bak Mei would infiltrate the Qing court as a spy while the others travelled throughout China to establish an alliance of anti-Qing rebels. However, the more Bak Mei learned, the more he realized that his allies' efforts would never be enough to overthrow the Qing, and so he left the rebellion, who took this as a betrayal, forcing Bak Mei on the run from those he was once on the run with. Almost all of the rebels who over the years sought to punish Bak Mei for his withdrawal from the struggle ended up dead at Bak Mei's hands, including Jee Sin and Miu Hin's son Fong Sai-Yuk, whom Bak Mei had known since Fong was a small boy.
In other accounts, Fong Sai-Yuk is not Miu Hin's son but his grandson.
Comments
Both these versions of the legend of Pai Mei come from inheritors of Bak Mei Kung Fu yet are very different from each other. Accounts of the Bak Mei and the Five Great Kung Fu Masters are many and varied.
The latter account names the Shaolin traitor as Ma Ning-Yee rather than Bak Mei, though that detail was omitted for reasons of length. In other versions, Bak Mei and Ma Ning-Yee both betray Shaolin, sometimes joined by Fung Do-Duk. Still other versions say that Bak Mei is a nickname for either Ma Ning-Yee or Fung Do-Duk. For that matter, the legend of Bak Mei may have no basis in historical fact at all, and come solely from wuxia novels like Wan Nian Qing. The legends are particularly confused because some temples were burned down repeatedly, including after the time of Bak Mei.
Bak Mei Kung Fu
Bak Mei is characterized by its emphasis on powerful close range hand strikes. Within Bak Mei can be found the four principles of Fou (Float), Chum (Sink), Tun (Swallow), and Tou (Spit) common in the Southern Chinese martial arts and also found in Karate. Unique to Bak Mei is its classification of the following 6 powers: biu (thrusting), chum (sinking), tan (springing), fa (neutralizing), tung, and chuk. Bak Mei emphasizes the movements of the tiger. The traditions of Bak Mei Kung Fu trace its origins to Mount Emei, where Bak Mei is said to have transmitted the art to the Chan (Zen) master Gwong Wai, who transmitted the art to the Chan master Juk Faat Wan and the Taoist Fung Fo.
Futshan Branch
The Taoist Fung Fo in turn passed the art on to Lau Siu-Leung, who established the Futshan lineage of Bak Mei.
Eddie Chong - Fushan White Eyebrow (Bak Mei) DVD Set
Original Fushan Bak Mei. Forms and Applications in detail. The set is composed by 7 tapes (On 2 DVDs). Each tape covers the form and its combat application completely. The forms are: Sub Jee, Fa Pao, Chut Dim Mui Fa, Sub Bat Ding Jeung, Sub Bat Moi Kiu, Gou Bo Tui, andamp; Fu Bo.
"As Sifu Eddie Chong was training in Fushan with Grandmaster Pan Nam, he was introduced to a fellow training brother, Lee Yung Gien (Li Yong Jian) and discussed the latter's expertise in the Bak Mei Pai system. After numerous years of dedicated study in Fushan Bak Mei, it is now introduced in the United States by Eddie Chong, who received complete endorsement to teach by his Sifu and training brother, Lee Yung Gien.
The Fushan Bak Mei system traces its origin to Fung Fou Dao Yan (Wind Fire Daoist). Since his real name is not known and neither who he was in his layman life, it's not known if there is a connection with Cheung Lei Chuen, commonly known among Bak Mei practitioners who trace their lineage back to Hong Kong. Research is a difficult task, since even the background and curriculum of Cheung Lei Chuen's 18 schools in Southern China (prior to the Communist takeover) varies, and there even exist branches in Vietnam. However, it is known that Fung Fou Dao Yan handed down the system to his disciple in Fushan named Lau Siu Leung. Lau Siu Leung was a very selective teacher and only passed down his Bak Mei to people of good moral character. One of his selected disciples was Lee Yung Gien in Fushan, who passed on the art to Eddie Chong.
The motto of Bak Mei is to chain movements of heavy strikes, using the straight to go out and receive with the horizontal, use complementary powers generated by the body and combine offense and defense as one.
The six powers of Bak Mei include straight, pulling, raising, sinking, whirling and splattering. Practitioners are advised to use the spirit, intention, breath and power. The form is round and practitioners are advised for leading and calmness when practicing.
It emphasizes the tiger form motions and the structure of the body and the steps to make it practical. The movements are small and precise, yet have the qualities of light, sharp, circular and alive.
Body motions including floating, sinking, swallowing and spitting are evident in this art. The four body motions emphasize power executed in an upwards, sinking, pushing outwards and drawing inwards and is the major source of power for this art. When combined with one another and varied in direction, duration and intent, the different powers are manifested and the practitioner can "Fa Jing" (explosive force) in many ways. Throughout the branches of Bak Mei, there are some 40 empty hand routines in White Eyebrow. Being conceivable that some of these sets may have been added in from influences in other systems, and have added in principles from Bak Mei into sets from other systems. Also, certain forms were created to emphasize different points or to emphasize a particular body type or limitation. What counts is the development of power and to know how to use and apply the movements in the core sets you know.
Chong Sifu teaches a core group of sets that include: Sup Ji Kuen, Fa Pao, Chut Dim Mui Fa, Gou Bo Tui, Sup Ba and Fu Bo Kuen. These are practiced usually emphazising relaxed or soft movements, or at full power. From the sets, San Sao (Separate hands) are extrapolated and used during two man prearranged sparring, Mor Kiu (sticking hands) and free fighting practice. Practice is often done at a quick pace with combat speed as it helps a practitioner develop timing, positioning and reflexes needed in combat situations. Chong Sifu has added in a dimension of training from his many years of experience in Wing Chun Kuen and teaches many of the Bak Mei applications throught the platform of Wing Chun's Luk-Sao (rolling hands practice) and Chi-Sao (sticking hands).
Bak Mei practitioners believe one must attack the outer gate of the opponent. They call this principle "Boon Bien Lien" (Half Face Attaching) which is to attack on a consistent basis the opponent's flank, where he is weakest and unable to defend. Since the system is a close quarters combat art, there is a strong emphasis on bridge crossing. An adage of Bak Mei is, "If there is a bridge, cross over; if there is no bridge, touch and feel". The stance is used to trap the opponent's leg and control it in case of leg attacks."
Extracted from "Futshan Bak Mei", by Robert Chu
Bak Mei is included in the Wing Chun Pedia because a number of Wing Chun families and lineages contain Bak Mei Kung Fu in them.
Bak Mei (literally White Eyebrows; also known as Pai Mei, Pei Mei, Bai Mei, Pak Mei) is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders - survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty imperial regime (1644 - 1912) - who, according to some accounts, betrayed Shaolin to the imperial government. He shares his name with the Southern Chinese martial art attributed to him.
Bak Mei has been fictionalized in Hong Kong films such as Hung Hsi-Kuan (1977), Shao Lin ying xiong bang (1979), and Hung wen tin san po pai lien chiao (1980). In these movies, Bak Mei was played by Lo Lieh, who also directed the 1980 film. Recently, Bak Mei is better known in the West as Pai Mei (the Wade-Giles romanization of his name in Mandarin), played by Gordon Liu in the Hollywood film Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004).
White Eyebrow, Traitor?
Accounts of the Five Elders are many and varied. Some versions identify the traitor not as Bak Mei, but as Ma Ning-Yee. In other versions, Bak Mei and Ma Ning-Yee both betray Shaolin, sometimes joined by Fung Do-Duk. Still other versions say that Bak Mei is a nickname for either Ma Ning-Yee or Fung Do-Duk. For that matter, the stories of the Five Elders may have no basis in historical fact at all, and come solely from wuxia novels like Wan Nian Qing and the mythology of anti-Qing organizations such as the Heaven and Earth Society, which were spreading wildly through China in the early 19th century. Whether justified or not, Bak Mei's traitorous reputation has led to real life animosity between practitioners of his namesake martial art and practitioners of arts identified with those whom he is accused of betraying. In the accounts of some Bak Mei practitioners, their founder did not so much betray Shaolin as decline to join their rebellion against the Qing. Other tales portray Bak Mei as having been banished from Shaolin Temple because he killed several of his fellow monks when he first tried out his new style. Some Bak Mei practitioners embrace their founder's reputation as a murderer of Shaolin disciples as proof of the superiority of their style.
Historical Bak Mei
Historical Bak Mei according to the lineage of Grand Master Nam Anh
Bak Mei played an important part in the downfall of Shaolin temples. Manchu conquered China in 1644. Before then, China had been ruled by the Ming Dynasty, which had been weakened by internal corruption and rebellion. The Manchu dynasty became known as the Qing Dynasty. As part of the Manchu campaign to pacify China, they attacked some Buddhist Shaolin Temples. The leader of the Shaolin Temple, Hong Mei (Red Eyebrows) died, leaving his legacy to Chi Thien Su, also known as Jee Sin, one of the five Great Kung Fu Masters. According to some stories another such master, Chu Long Tuyen, the monk who would later become Bak Mei, did not accept this. He believed the Ming had become corrupt and Chi Thien Su would still serve them; Bak Mei would rather serve the foreign Qing Dynasty. Then came the attack against the Shaolin Temple at Quanzhou in Fujian province in 1647. Some sources indicate that this temple was actually in Henan, or that the invading forces recruited help from Tibetan warriors in the attack.
The Five Elders survived, however, and soon Chi Thien Su would found a second Shaolin Temple at Nine Lotus Mountain, also in Fujian Province. The Five Kung Fu Masters survived the first destruction of the Shaolin Temple by Qing Imperial forces and sought shelter in another temple, Fujian Temple, but the other monks were massacred. After Bak Mei refused to provide his real name for fear of retribution (against his family and students - if they survived), the Abbott of the temple christened the monk Bak Mei - White Eyebrow. According to some stories, Bak Mei betrayed the Ming at this point, taking information about their plot against the Manchu to the Manchu Shunzhi Emperor, then returned with information about the Manchu attack plan to the Shaolin. After the temple was destroyed by the Manchu, Bak Mei left the temple to study Taoism. Bak Mei trained an anti-Imperial attack force but following capture of the force by the Imperials, was forced to teach and lead 50,000 Imperial troops in the second destruction of the Shaolin Temple at Henan to prevent those captured with him from being tortured and killed. There, Bak Mei slew the invincible Shaolin leader, Chi Thien Su, in single combat by breaking his neck. He claimed he did this to prevent the massacre of the monks in the temple by the troops who followed him.
The tale of Bak Mei's death comes in many forms - it is often claimed that he was poisoned, or slain (in a grand battle) by other martial artists. Bak Mei is often portrayed as a traitor, however, it is important to note that Bak Mei's actions are not always consistent with this. Bak Mei's actions were undertaken, even to the destruction of the temple, with the intention of preventing harm to those who had chosen to follow him. It is possible that if Bak Mei had not aided the Imperial forces, his followers would have been tortured to death.
Historical Bak Mei according to the lineage of master Jie Kon Sieuw
During the reign of the Qing emperor Kangxi (1662 - 1722), the warriors of the Xilufan revolt were so feared that the 2 ministers Kangxi ordered to end their attacks fled China rather than face either the mercilessness of the Xilu warriors, which often involved beheading, or the displeasure of the emperor, which often involved beheading.
It was the 128 monks of the southern Shaolin temple who defeated the army of Xilu over 3 months in 1673 without suffering a single casualty. However, by doing so the monks had made enemies of those in the Qing army and Qing court who were embarrassed by how easily the Shaolin monks had succeeded where they had failed. Soon rumors began to spread about the threat posed by a power so great that it defeated the entire Xilu army with a force of only 128 monks. This campaign of innuendo was wasted on Kangxi, who remained grateful to the monks, but the rumors had their intended effect on his successor, the emperor Yongzheng (1722 - 1735), who ordered the temple's destruction.
In 1723, on the 6th day of the first new moon of the lunar calendar, Qing forces launched a sneak attack on the southern Shaolin temple, which began by bombarding the largely wooden monastery with a relentless deluge of burning arrows. Between the surprise attack, the fire, and the overwhelming number of Qing soldiers, 110 out of the 128 monks were killed that day. The Great Shaolin Purge took 70 days as Qing forces hunted down the 18 survivors. The surviving warrior monks of Shaolin inflicted massive casualties on their Qing pursuers but, in the end, their numbers were too great. Soon only five remained:
- The Chan (Zen) master Jee Sin (Vietnamese: Chi Thien Su)
- The nun Ng Mui (Vietnamese: Nou Mei)
- The Taoist Bak Mei (Vietnamese: Pei Mei)
- The Taoist Fung Do-Duk (Vietnamese: Phung Dao Duc)
- The unshaved (lay) Shaolin disciple Miu Hin (Vietnamese: Mieu Hien)
After 2 years of running and hiding from the Qing army these fugitives of the cloth regrouped at Mount Emei in Sichuan Province. As one of the sacred mountains of China, Mount Emei was home to about 70 monasteries and temples where the five clerics could blend in easily.
It was decided that Bak Mei would infiltrate the Qing court as a spy while the others travelled throughout China to establish an alliance of anti-Qing rebels. However, the more Bak Mei learned, the more he realized that his allies' efforts would never be enough to overthrow the Qing, and so he left the rebellion, who took this as a betrayal, forcing Bak Mei on the run from those he was once on the run with. Almost all of the rebels who over the years sought to punish Bak Mei for his withdrawal from the struggle ended up dead at Bak Mei's hands, including Jee Sin and Miu Hin's son Fong Sai-Yuk, whom Bak Mei had known since Fong was a small boy.
In other accounts, Fong Sai-Yuk is not Miu Hin's son but his grandson.
Comments
Both these versions of the legend of Pai Mei come from inheritors of Bak Mei Kung Fu yet are very different from each other. Accounts of the Bak Mei and the Five Great Kung
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