KUNGFU STYLES THAT ARE EXCELLENT FOR THE SMALL AGAINST THE BIG
Taijiquan
Question
In your autobiography you mention that the Seven-Star Set "is excellent against Muay Thai". May I kindly ask why?
You also mentioned that "the Seven-Star Set is excellent for the small-sized against bigger, stronger opponents". May you explain how this set would overcome bigger and stronger opponents in comparison with Taijiquan?
Santiago
Answer
As my sifu was about to teach me the Seven-Star Set, he asked me a rhetoric question, “How would a fragile lady defend against the ferocious sweeping kicks of a Muay Thai fighter?”
Before I could answer, which would be “I don’t know”, as I didn’t know at that time, my sifu continued, “What you see in kungfu movies how a heroine would defend against the ferocious kicks of a Muay thai fighter by blocking them with her both hands is disastrous.”
Muay Thai was very popular at that time, and there were many kungfu movies from Hong Kong showing how fragile ladies defended against Muay thai sweeping kicks using their delicate palms.
“Her hands would be broken, and the sweeping kicks would continue to hit her face,” my sifu explained. “The sweeping kicks of Muay Thai fighters, especially professional ones, are very powerful. They kick at a pinang tree (like a small palm tree) two to three hundred times a day until the tree shakes.”
I was quick to grasp the opportunity. “Then, how should she defend against the powerful sweeping kicks, sifu?”
“You’re going to learn them in this Seven-Star Set I'm going to teach you. But don't block a powerful sweeping kick,” my sifu advised.
When my sifu said that techniques from the Seven-Star Set were excellent to counter Muay Thai attacks, it had a lot of weight, as my sifu was formerly a professional Muay Thai fighter. Sever-Stars techniques were not just excellent against Muay Thai sweeping kicks, they were excellent against all Muay Thai attacks, including all other kicks, knee strikes and elbow strikes.
I would even go to the extent of saying that as far as techniques are concerned, a Muay Thai fighter has no chance against a Seven-Star exponent. As soon as the Muay Thai fighter makes a move, he would be defeated by the Seven-Star exponent! Even when the Muay Thai fighter is more powerful, he would still be defeated because the Seven-Star exponent does not use force against force.
But if there is a wide difference in skills, like the Muay Thai fighter is an expert and the Seven-Star exponent a beginner, the beginner would be no match against the expert. The decisive factor for victory is not techniques but skills.
However, even when you are skillful, if you do not know the Seven-Star techniques, you would not be able to beat a Muay Thai fighter. Just like even when you are a good driver, but if you don’t have a car, someone riding a bicycle would be faster than you.
It is worthwhile to mention that by watching the Seven-Star Set or even being able to perform the Seven-Star Set is insufficient to know the intricacies and sophistication of the Seven-Star techniques. Students must learn them in a course taught by a competent teacher.
In fact, this is a main problem facing most kungfu practitioners today. Excellent combat techniques are found in kungfu, but most kungfu practitioners do not know how to apply them, even when they may perform these techniques beautifully in solo demonstration. It is like having a car but not knowing how to drive it.
Why are Seven-Star techniques excellent against Muay Thai? This is because the techniques as well as the principles of the Seven-Star Set were constructed with the philosophy in mind of small-sized exponents defeating bigger-sized opponents who are powerful, fast and agile. It is as if the Seven-Star Set was constructed as a nemesis against Muay Thai.
The term “as if” is used here because I believe the masters who composed the Seven-Star Set did not have Muay Thai in mind. Muay Thai just happens to fall in the category of a martial art that is powerful, fast and agile, though its exponent may not necessarily be big-sized.
Will the Seven-Star Set also be effective against martial arts that are not powerful, not fast and not agile? Of course, it is. In fact it would be easier for a Seven-Star exponent to beat someone who is weak, slow and clumsy. Just as if a car is specially built to beat other cars which are powerful, fast and agile, it will be easier for this special car to beat cars which are weak, slow and clumsy. So, the Seven-Star Set is excellent not just against Muay Thai, but also against other martial arts.
Let us take an example of a martial art that is quite different from Muay Thai – Lohan Kungfu. Are Seven-Star techniques excellent against Lohan Kungfu? Yes, they are. Lohan Kungfu, where being big-sized is an advantage whereas it is a disadvantage in Muay Thai, is also powerful, fast and agile.
A Lohan exponent may not use a lot of sweeping kicks like a Muay Thai fighter does, but swinging arm movements in Lohan Kungfu are similar in principles. Seven-Star techniques are excellent to counter these swinging arm movements.
A Lohan exponent may not use a lot of elbow strikes like a Muay Thai fighter does, but the upward cannon punches and horn punches are similar in principles, and Seven-Star techniques are excellent counter. Lohan Kungfu uses a lot of powerful thrust punches, and Seven-Star has excellent counters. Indeed, I believe it was against Lohan Kungfu in mind that the masters composed Seven-Star.
Both the Seven-Star Set and Taijiquan are excellent for the smaller-sized against the bigger-sized, and for the physically weaker against the physically stronger. But they achieve this special ability in different ways. Personally I find the methods used in Seven-Star even more effective.
The main principle in this special ability in Taijiquan is to deflect an opponent’s force and motion by using circular movement, which can be realized with waist rotation. The opponent’s force and motion are then redirected back to himself in a figure-of-eight movement. Taijiquan techniques are circular and extended.
When an opponent throws a powerful punch, for example, instead of blocking it head-on, a Taijiquan exponent deflects it and turning it back to the opponent by first following the punching momentum, next turning it away, and then pushing the punching arm back to the opponent in a circular movement and striking him.
A Seven-Star response is faster and direct. As an opponent throws a powerful punch, instead of blocking it or deflecting it, a Seven-Star exponent also shoots out his Seven-Star palm. His timing and spacing must be perfect so that his shooting arm will brush away the opponent’s attack, and his Seven-Star hook grips the opponent’s throat at a time when the punch is brushed off. If the opponent moves back or moves away, the Seven-Star hook will grip the opponent’s upper arm.
For those who heard the story of my fight with a Muay Thai fighter in my younger days, this was the Seven-Star hook I used to grip his throat. The back-hand slap on his groin in another situation was from a Monkey Set.
Other famous kungfu styles or sets that utilize the ability of the weaker beating the stronger, the smaller-sized beating the bigger-sized are Monkey, Wing Choon, Praying Mantis, Baguazhang and the Flower Set. They use different techniques and different principles to achieve the same aim, illustrating the richness of kungfu.
Personally I find the Flower Set and the Seven-Star Set the most effective. They use similar principles, but the Flower Set uses the techniques of dim-mark whereas the Seven-Star Set uses the techniques of chin-na. In this aspect I would consider the Seven-Star Set has an edge over the Flower Set. If an opponent dodges the initial attack, a Flower Set exponent would have to use another technique, but the Seven-Star Set exponent would change gripping the opponent’s throat to gripping the opponent’s arm.
Seven-Star techniques are amazingly effective, but they are secretive. This was probably a main reason why this effective set was not widely practiced as its masters wanted to keep its secrets.
Monkey Style
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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