GROUND FIGHTING IN KUNGFU

Ground fighting

Ground fighting



Question

Do the Chinese Martial Arts have any ground fighting styles? If so, what are they? I have read that Chinese fighting styles never had ground fighting. Is that true? I would think that after 5,000 years of civilization the Chinese Arts would cover every aspect of fighting. I hope you can shed some light on these questions for me.

-- Edward, USA


Answer

Yes, Chinese martial arts do have ground fighting. You are right: after 5000 years of civilization, the Chinese arts would cover every aspect of fighting. The style that is best known for ground fighting is “Ti-Dang-Men” (“Teai Thong Moon” in Cantonese), which may be translated as “Ground Fighting School”.

Many kungfu styles also have ground fighting techniques, though ground fighting may not be their specialty. Many ground fighting techniques are found in the Monkey Style, for example. In the Shaolin Kungfu practiced in our school, patterns like “Gold Coin on Ground”, “Carp Turns Body” and “Reverse Kicking at Purple Bell” are ground fighting techniques. You can see many of our ground fighting techniques on my webpage Counters against Wrestling taught by Grandmaster Kai Uwe who is also a master of ground fighting.

A main reason why many people, including kungfu practitioners, mistakenly think that there are no or few ground fighting techniques in kungfu is because these techniques are seldom used. Why is this so?

This is because, unlike Wrestling and Grappling which are sports protected by safety rules, kungfu is a fighting art where no rules apply. For ground fighting to take place, the combatants have to be on the ground. An opponent has to move in to fell the kungfu exponent first. But in doing so the opponent exposes himself dangerously. The kungfu exponent could smash the opponent’s head or break his backbone easily.

Indeed, if you ask kungfu masters what they would do if a wrestler moves in for a take-down, they would probably say they would have killed or maimed the wrestler while he tries to do so. This is true, although these masters may not explain as clearly as I attempt to do so here. Hence, those exposed to wrestling as a sport but not exposed to kungfu as a fighting art, may think the masters try to cover their inability with some boastful answers.

This is understandable as the standard of kungfu fighting today is so low. Not only they cannot counter take-downs and wrestling holds, most kungfu practitioners today are unable to apply their kungfu techniques to counter straight-forward punches and kicks. But it is a different case with kungfu practitioners who are combat efficient. An opponent rushing in for a take-down with his head and other vital parts exposed, is like commit suicide in a real fight.

Some examples of such counters are “Wu Zong Strikes Tiger” (Wu Zong was a kungfu master in classical times famous for killing a tiger with his bare hands) where the exponent rams a fist into the opponent’s head, “Yun Tan Tames Tiger” (Yun Tan is a martial god of wealth) where the exponent strikes his palm on the opponent’s back, breaking his backbone or causing injury to internal organs, and “Yellow Bird Drinks Water” where the exponent moves aside and strike a phoenix-eye fist to the opponent’s temple.

We are here talking about combatants with similar levels of skills. If the opponent is a seasoned wrestler and the kungfu practitioner a novice, then the opponent can easily effect a take-down even when the novice knows the counter. Here the decisive factor is skills, not techniques.

Nevertheless, if the opponent is skillful enough to effect a successful take-down despite its many technical disadvantages, he can beat the kungfu practitioner in easier and safer ways. If he can be skillful enough to grasp the legs, for example, of the kungfu exponent for the take-down, it would be easier and safer to execute a decisive strike to the latter’s groins or any other vital parts of his body to win the match without having to take him down then subdue him on the ground.

As you have correctly said, kungfu covers every aspect of fighting. Decisively striking an opponent as he moves in for a take-down is the first-level counter, and it is usually accomplished as he has many technical advantages over his opponents in such a combat situation. If this fails, he has second-level counters.

First level counters refer to those when the opponent is at the initial stage of his attack. In this case of take-down, the counters are applied before the opponent has grasped his legs or other parts of his body. Second level counters refer to those when the opponent is in the process of his attack. In this case, the opponent has grabbed the exponent’s legs or other parts of his body for the take-down.

Some examples of second level counters are “Heavenly Dragon Descends to Earth” where the exponent sinks down into a Unicorn Stance and traps the opponent’s arms, “Fierce Tiger Crouches on Ground” where the exponent kneels down and strikes the opponent’s neck or back with an elbow, and “Reverse Kicking at Purple Bell” where the exponent rolls back following the pushing momentum of the opponent and kicks up at his groin.

Even if these fail and the kungfu exponent is on the ground, pinned down by the opponent, the kungfu exponent has a number of third level counters. Some examples are “Carp Turns Body” where the exponent turns over and pins down the opponent instead, “Naughty Monkey Kicks Pig” where the exponent rolls over and away kicking the opponent simultaneously, and “Two Dragons Fight for Pearls” which is a drastic counter where the exponent, after freeing himself from the opponent’s grip, jabs two fingers into the opponent’s eyes.

A kungfu master with tremendous internal force does not even need these techniques. It is understandable if many people may not believe it, but the master merely gets up from the ground, throwing off the opponent who may be pinning the master down. Such a formidable skill was demonstrated by Grandmaster Kai Uwe of Shaolin Wahnam Germany during an Intensive Shaolin Kungfu Course in Frankfurt (please see pictures above), where he just got up seemingly without effort despite a few people pinning him down!



Reproduced from July 2007 Part 1 in Selection of Question-Answer Series

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