HOW WOULD A FRAGILE-LOOKING LADY COUNTER THE FEROCIOUS SWEEPING KICK OF A MUAY THAI FIGHTER?
Seven-star jump
Question
Can you tell us some famous practitioners of the Seven-Star Set, and possibly some stories on how the set was developed and used in the past?
Sifu Markus Kahila
Answer
I don’t know of any famous practitioners of the Seven-Star Set. The kungfu set itself was not widely practiced, which does not mean it is not effective. Dragon Strength, for example, is also not widely known, but it is the pinnacle of my kungfu development.
One main reason why effective kungfu sets are not well known was because masters of these sets kept them as top secrets in the past. We must, of course, guard against dualistic thinking. This does not necessarily mean that popular sets are not effective. The 108-Pattern Yang Style Taijiquan Set is very popular, and it is also very effective for combat as well as good health and spiritual cultivation, though today many people who practice this set daily may not have these benefits.
I also don’t know much about how the set was developed and used in the past. The Seven-Star Set was recorded in the Shaolin Classic written by the abbot of the northern Shaolin Temple, the Venerable Fu Yu, around the year 961 during the Song Dynasty. The routine of the set recorded in this classic, however, was not the same as the routine I learned from Sifu Ho Fatt Nam.
But I believe it was the same set, and the philosophy was also similar. The difference was due to the long time between the two versions. Even within about 40 years since the time I learned the set from my sifu, I cannot remember the exact routine. (Videos were unknown then, or not widely used.) But the philosophy, principles and characteristic forms are the same. I also have included some applications which I have found useful.
But I can clearly remember the stories, which were about real experiences, related to my learning of this set.
My sifu learned the set from his simu, the wife of my sigung who taught my sifu the art of lightness. When my sigung, whose name I do not know, stopped teaching the art of lightness to my sifu, his simu pitied him and taught him this Seven-Star Set. My sifu told me that his simu was small-sized but very combat effective. Her feet were tiny, bound in a traditional way, but she was excellent in the organ-seeking kick derived from the Seven-Star Set.
Before teaching me the Seven-Star Set, my sifu asked me a rhetoric question. “How would a fragile-looking lady counter the ferocious sweeping kick of a Muay Thai fighter?” he asked. Before I could answer, which probably was “I don’t know”, he continued, “The way you see in movies how a heroine blocks the powerful sweeping kicks with her delicate hands is disastrous. Her hands would be fractured, and the kick would continue to hit her face.”
“A Muay Thai fighter’s sweeping kicks are very powerful,” my sifu continued. A professional Muay Thai fighter kicks at a ‘pinang’ tree (which is like a small palm tree) 200 or 300 times every day until the tree shakes!”
I was quick to grasp the learning opportunity. “Then, how would she block a powerful sweeping kick, sifu?”
“You will learn it in this set I am going to teach you. But don’t block a powerful kick,” he advised.
I taught I would learn the set in a few months. I was mistaken. All my sifu taught me was some typical movements, especially a typical Seven-Star jump. As a good student, I practiced those few movements every day for many months. I was quite proficient in kungfu then. I was an assistant instructor helping my sifu teach Shaolin Kungfu at the Guangdong Association in Kuala Trengganu, the capital of the state of Trengganu in Malaysia.
Eventually my sifu asked my siheng, Pok Kai, who injured me with a gentle tap of his cup fist on my solar plexus that took me six months to recover, to teach me the Seven-Star Set. He taught me the set in a relative short time.
I was too young to understand the significance of kungfu training then. I thought, wrongly, it was a waste of time practicing the Seven-Star jump daily for many months. My siheng could just teach me the set in a few weeks. But I still practiced the Seven-Star jump dutifully and diligently as my sifu told me.
On hindsight I now realize that the best benefit I got was not from the set but from the jump. My daily practice made me very agile, which is not only important in kungfu but more important in daily life. I believe my physical agility derived from practicing the Seven-Star jump daily also contributed to my mental agility.
Seven-star kick
The above discussion is reproduced from the thread 10 Questions on the famous and legendary Seven-Star Set (七星拳)
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