SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
OCTOBER 2024 PART 3
Question 1
I wish you and your family are very well and happy.
— Paz, Spain
Answer
My family is very well and happy. I wish you and Angel are full of happiness and peace.
Question 2
I have just read the questions and answers section of your website, where you generously share a lot of valuable and useful information.
Answer
Telling the truth and not telling lies are two of the rules in Buddhism. There are many rules.
It would be better in terms of karma to tell the truth.
Not to kill is another rule of Buddhism. Eating a monkey or a grasshopper is against Buddhism.
Being intoxicated with alcohol is against Buddhism. I don't know people who smoke or take other drugs but I presume they are against Buddhism. I personally don't know any Buddhist monks or nuns who smoke or take other drugs.
Paz and Sifu Angel de Castro
Question 3
What I decide and start building is an on-line course.
— Sifu Racheli Witteri, Shaolin Wahnam Israel
Answer
It was some time I heard from you.
I can remember very well our trip to Cambridge and the lovely time with your husband.
You have my blessing to use the photograph you sent to me.
It was also a blessing with all the family around as your father passed away. You must keep your word to take care of your family.
You will make a good teacher. I believe in face-to-face teaching, but I have no objection to on-line courses.
Question 4
Which patterns would you choose for staff vs sabre applications?
Sifu Chris Didik's questions and my answers are continued from here.
Answer
The spear vs sabre is popular. There are different versions of these sets.
The sabre set we have in Shaolin Wahnam is my composition.
I used the teachings of Sifu Lai Chin Wah, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, and Sifu Choe Hoong Choy for the compositon of the sabre.
We only practiced "San Zhan" or "Three Battles" in our training. There was not much to learn in Sifu Chee Kim Thong's class, taught by his eldest son, Sifu Chee Boon Leong. I thought "San Zhan" was for developing internal force.
"Spear and sabre"
Question 5
Are there any special considerations with respect to taming in these scenarios?
Answer
I use mainly the "Flowing Water Staff". I seldom use the "108-Pattern Staff" of Sifu Lai Chin Wah. I still remember I used a wooden pole about 6 feet long as a staff as I was quite a small boy in Sifu Lai Chin Wah's class.
The "Flowing Water Staff" is used to "tame" another staff or a classical weapon.
Question 6
I have noticed some other factors.
Answer
The circling movements are important in both the staff and the sabre. It is used to control the sabre, and the sabre can cut the forward hand of the person holding the staff.
The non-holding hand is useful in catching the staff.
"Flowing Water Staff"
Question 7
One useful tactic is to use our weapon to knock the opponent's weapon out of the way to create an opening for an attack.
Answer
I mention in the "Way of the Master" how to strike the leg of an opponent. I also mention in my webpages how to tame an opponent.
Question 8
Thank you for the information about the sabre and the spear.
Answer
Some schools compose their own sets regarding the sabre and the spear, as well as the sabre and the staff. It is not easy to compose their own sets. Some masters needed to learn from their sifus. Most masters followed one sifu, who treated the masters as their own sons.
I was lucky to learn from four sifus. I still remember Sifu Lai Chin Wah and Sifu Ho Fatt Nam very fondly. I didn't learn much from my third sifu, Sifu Chee Kim Thong. When I learned from my fourth sifu, Sifu Choe Hoong Choy, I was already well known in martial art circles.
LINKS
Selected Reading
- Fighting Multiple Attackers Holding Weapons
- Chinese Classical Weapons
- Interesting Background of Shaolin Wahnam Kungfu Sets
- A Little Stream of Consciousness
- Plum for Peach Sacrifies