VARIETY OF ONE-FINGER ZEN HAND FORM

One-Finger Shooting Zen

One-Finger Shooting Zen

Question 8

Sifu, would you please elaborate on the similarities, varieties and differences between the One Finger Zen techniques in Hoong Ka Kung Fu

and compare it to One Finger Shooting Zen?

Based on this comparison, is it necessary or recommended to keep training One Finger Shooting Zen separately too?

Sifu Leonard Lackinger

Answer

Congratulations for asking a thoughtful question which indicates deep understanding of the intricacies of kungfu. The question requires a refined answer. Not only it needs much insight to answer it, it also requires much perception to ask the question.

All the patterns mentioned, which can be found in picture-series of the respective kungfu sets shown on my website, employ the One-Finger Zen hand form. But there are subtle differences amongst the various patterns, otherwise there is no need for the different patterns other than for variety or for exhibition.

Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge is also found in the signature greeting of Sifu Hoi Fatt Nam’s school. When I first learned it, I was surprised at the internal force it created. It was the first pattern in a kungfu set that generated internal force for me.

My first pattern that generated internal force was Lifting the Sky, the very first pattern I learned from Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, though at the time the force was not substantial that I did not notice it. I was aware of the internal force only with hindsight.

The next pattern that I felt internal force, the first one that I learned that led me later to feel internal force quite noticeably, was One-Finger Shooting Zen. My sifu taught me individual patterns. This, I believe, was the tradition at the Shaolin Temple in the past. Only after teaching me some basic patterns, the onus of which was to develop internal force, that my sifu taught me my first kungfu set, Four Gates. Hence I could feel remarkable internal force when I learned Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge in the signature greeting. This pattern, Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge, was the first pattern I felt internal force clearly.

I learned Lifting the Sky first, but I was aware of internal force generated by this pattern only much later when I taught chi kung to the public. I learned One-Finger Shooting Zen next. It was this pattern that I first realized generate internal force. Then I learned Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge. This was the first pattern in a kungfu set that I felt internal force remarkably.

Had I not practiced One-Finger Shooting Zen, I would not have felt internal force the first time I performed Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge. Without One-Finger Shooting Zen, I would still generate internal force using Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge but it would take a much longer time, probably half a year instead of the first time performing it.

Had I not learned Lifting the Sky first, I would not have developed internal force using One-Finger Shooting Zen in less than a month. Without Lifting the Sky, I would still develop internal force with One-Finger Shooting Zen, but it would take a longer time, probably in three months.

Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge

I did not know this philosophical background at the time I trained these arts. As a good student I just trained the way my sifu so generously and kindly taught me. From this experience, confirmed by experiences of many students later on, we may conclude that I was cost-effective in developing internal force because I first generated an energy flow with Lifting the Sky, then consolidated internal force, while keeping the force flowing, using One-Finger Shooting Zen. As a result, my internal force manifested in Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge.

I do not think my sifu knew of this philosophical background, otherwise, based on his way of teaching and his generosity in sharing knowledge and benefit with deserving students, he would have told me. He just followed the Shaolin tradition of teaching that had been perfected through practice over many centuries. I also do not think past masters knew of this philosophical knowledge. It was not mentioned in classics, not even in an arcane manner.

Hence, we may be creating history of knowledge regarding internal force training. We do not create practice. The practice was already there over centuries. But we add to the rich collection of knowledge, which in the past was kept secretive. With this knowledge we can be very cost-effective in internal force training. We have to thank Leo for asking the question which led me to crystalize the knowledge.

Both Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge and One-finger Shooing Zen use the One-Finger Zen Form and both develop internal force. Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge in Wong Fei Hoong’s lineage is performed standing upright in Wuji Stance, whereas Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge in Sifu Ho Fatt Nam’s school is performed in a Horse-Riding Stance like One-Finger Shooting Zen.

Due to the structure of the arms in relation to the body, performing Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge, especially in a Horse-Riding Stance, produces more consolidated force than performing One-Finger Shooting Zen. If a practitioner is not familiar with flowing force, he may perform Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge as an isometric exercise, thus producing big muscles. This deviation, though possible, is less likely in One-finger Shooting Zen.

The same pattern performed in a Two-Character Stance (or standing upright with feet together) is called One-Finger Stabilizes Empire in Wong Fei Hoong’s lineage, but One-Finger Shooting Zen (standing upright) in our school. We reserve the name One-Finger Stabilizes Empire when the pattern is performed with the One-Finger Zen extended sideway in a sideway Horse-Riding Stance as in Wong Fei Hoong’s lineage.

One-Finger Shooting Zen standing upright was first introduced by me as an expedient means to help students at Intensive Shaolin Kungfu Courses when teaching One-Finger Shooting Zen seated on a Horse-Riding Stance. I found some students unable to remain at the Horse-Riding Stance long enough to learn the whole sequence of One-Finger Shooting Zen.

I asked them to stand upright first when learning the whole sequence. When they are familiar with the sequence, I asked them to perform the sequence on a Horse-Riding Stance. Incidentally, I found that without enduring the rigor of the Horse-Riding Stance, the students could generate a chi flow more easily when standing upright. Hence, starting One-Finger Shooting Zen by first standing upright, and later progressing to performing it on a Horse-Riding Stance is not only more pleasant and less enduring, but actually produces better result.

One-Finger Stabilizes Empire performed on a sideway Horse-Riding Stance produced more consolidated force than One-Finger Shooting Zen performed on a frontal Horse-Riding Stance. This is applicable when the practitioner already has internal force. If he does not already have internal force, it takes much longer time to develop internal force using One-Finger Stabilizes Empire than using One-Finger Shooting Zen. This is probably the reason why One-Finger Stabilizes Empire is not normally used as a force-training method, except in Eighteen Lohan Hands when it resembles Shooting Arrows Left and Right.

In our school Double Dragons Emerge from Sea is performed with dragon hand form, but in Wong Fei Hoong’s lineage it is performed with One-finger Zen hand forms. There is some fine difference in the force produced due to the difference hand forms being employed. Using the dragon hand forms focuses on consolidating force, whereas using the One-finger Zen hand forms focuses on flowing force.

When both hands are used, as in Double Dragons Emerge from Sea, the flow of energy is over more of the whole body, whereas when only one hand is used at a time, force flows along that hand but there is more focus on the flowing force.

Circulating Soft Bridge is one of my favorites, though I did not use it as an internal force training method. When I first performed it in the Dragon Strength Set, I did so mechanically, and produced neither internal force nor external strength. But when I performed the same pattern again in Dragon Strength after I had developed internal force from training with Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, the internal force generated from this pattern was tremendous.

I had an aha experience realizing why the pattern was called Circulating Soft Bridge, because the force I generated, while tremendously powerful, was distinctly soft. The name excellently described the nature and function of the pattern.

Words may not describe the experience clearly; when I perform One-Finger Shooting Zen I feel my force flowing, but when I perform Circulating Soft Force I feel my force circulating. Relatively the force in One-Finger Shooting Zen is hard, whereas that in Circulating Soft Force is soft. Yet, the soft force is tremendously more powerful.

In Bow-Arrow Threads Bridge, the One-Finger Zen hand form is employed to develop internal force while sitting on a Bow-Arrow Stance, whereas in One-Finger Shooting Zen, the One-Finger Zen hand form is employed to develop internal force while sitting on a Horse-Riding Stance. Yet, the force developed is quite different. In One-Finger Shooting Zen, the force developed is holistic, whereas in Bow-Arrow Threads Bridge the force developed is localized at the arms and hands. This is probably due to the different stances.

Secondly, the hand movement in Bow-Arrow Threads Bridge is “threading”, and the force travels from down to up. The hand movement in One-Finger Shooting Zen is “dotting”, and the force travels from up to down. The force in Bow-Arrow Threads Bridge is focused at the finger-thrust, whereas in One-Finger Shooting Zen it is focused on the dotting finger. Relatively the force in Bow-Arrow Threads Bridge is hard, whereas that in One-Finger Shooting Zen is soft.

Finger-Fist Double Shine

In Finger-Fist Double Shine in the Iron Wire Set, the force at the finger and its arm is soft, whereas the force at the fist and its arm is hard. It is a manifestation of yin-yang harmony, with yin on one side and yang on the other. In One-Finger Shooting Zen, the force at the finger and arm can be hard or soft, or hard and soft, depending on the mind of the practitioner that directs and controls the flow aspect and the consolidating aspect of force training. Here is yin-yang manifestation at a higher level.

Although it is not necessary, it is highly recommended to keep training One-Finger Shooting Zen.

Without One-Finger Shooting Zen we can develop internal force using many other methods. But the nature and function of force developed from these other methods are different from those of One-Finger Shooting Zen. Comparatively, the force in these other methods are thematic, whereas that in One-Finger Shooting Zen is holistic.

In Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge, for example, the force is focused at the arms, and in Bow-Arrow Threads Bridge, the force is focused at the fingers. In One-Finger Shooting Zen, the force is stored at the dan tian, to be channeled to wherever it is needed.

This does not mean that skillful practitioners cannot store force from Triple Stretching of Pearl Bridge and from Bow-Arrow Threads Bridge at the dan tian, or focus force from One-Finger Shooting Zen at the finger. Indeed, I found the signature greeting of Sifu Ho Fatt Nam’s lineage extremely useful because right at the start of any kungfu set, the greeting pattern set chi flowing all over the body, then accumulated at the dan tian to be channeled to wherever was needed in the performance of the set.

On the other hand, One-Finger Shooting Zen is a choice training method for dim mark, or the advanced art of dotting energy point, where chi is focused at the finger for this function, though initially chi has to be stored at the dan tian. Nevertheless, relatively speaking, the force of these other training methods is thematic, whereas that of One-Finger Shooting Zen is holistic.

Moreover, One-Finger Shooting Zen makes training all other methods more cost-effective. In other words, if a practitioner straight away starts with any other force training method, like Arrow-Bridge Threads Bridge or Double Dragons Emerge from Sea, he will take more effort and a long time to attain the same amount of internal force than had he practiced One-Finger Shooting Zen first.

Also, if a practitioner only practices any one other force training method he will take more effort and a longer time to attain the same amount of internal force than had he trained One-Finger Shooting Zen too even if he did not train One-Finger Shooting Zen first. This is because One-Finger Shooting Zen involves both methods of force training, namely flowing force and consolidating force.

In both cases, the practitioner will get even better benefit if he already is able to generate an energy flow, having practiced such chi kung exercises like Lifting the Sky or Carrying the Moon.

When we mention that our typical students can develop internal force in a matter of months whereas even masters in the past took years, it is understandable that people outside our school do not believe us, even when they may not openly accuse us as being arrogant and boastful. Actually our claim is very conservative and we are being modest.

In a regional Wing Choon course in Barcelona yesterday, typical students developed internal force and distinctly felt it on the very first day of their training. It took me 17 years before I had my first experience of internal force! A main reason for this huge time difference is because at the time of my training I did not have a clear understanding of the underlying philosophy of internal force training, but now having understood how internal force is built, I apply it directly to help my students.

Your questions further probe into this interesting and beneficial philosophy. It is very beneficial because internal force does not only enhance our kungfu performance, but more significantly maintains life, enhances life and enables us to produce better results no matter what we do! When you eat your breakfast, for example, your internal force enables you to taste it better and digest it well. When you take your girlfriend out on a date, your internal force gives you vitality and emotional balance to ensure her to have an enjoyable time.

Circulating Soft Bridge

Circulating Soft Bridge

Shaolin Wahnam Summer Camp 2014

Questions on Legacy of Wong Fei Hoong – Overview

The questions and answers are reproduced from the thread Legacy of Wong Fei Hung Q-A Series by Sifu in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.

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