LEARNING THE WHOLE WUZUQUAN SYSTEM

Wuzuquan

Two monks in Wuzuquan sparring

Question

After the Wuzuquan Intensive Course and the following practice I was really interested to learn the whole Wuzuquan system.

What is the best way to approach it? Are you likely to teach more Wuzuquan sets in the future?

Sifu Anton Schmick - Instructor, Shaolin Wahnam Germany

Answer

You have done very well in Wuzuquan.

Personally I don’t think it is necessary for you to learn the whole Wuzuquan system. The following are the reasons.

  1. You are already very good at the Wuzuquan system except Wuzuquan weapons. The Wuzuquan system, except the weapons, is found in San Zhan, its fundamental set. You can perform San Zhan very well, and is efficient in Wuzuquan combat as well as force training.

  2. There are two main dimensions of Wuzuquan system, or any kungfu system, namely force training and combat application. A Wuzuquan practitioner, or any kungfu practitioner, should have internal force, which contributes to good health, vitality, longevity, mental clarity and spiritual joys; and be able to use Wuzuquan for combat, both in actual fighting and figuratively in everyday life.

  3. You are already good in both these two dimensions, much better, in my opinion than many Wuzuquan practitioners. In my experience, most Wuzuquan practitioners have internal force, but not many know Wuzuquan combat application. My belief, which may be wrong, is that if a Karate or Taekwondo black-belt were to attack a typical Wuzuquan practitioner, the latter may not know what to do. This lack of Wuzuquan combat efficiency, which is actually common in all kungfu systems, is due, amongst other reasons, to the fact that Wuzuquan masters, and kungfu masters in general, are very secretive. The real Wuququan masters, and other kungfu masters, are extremely effective in combat, but they are very rare.

  4. The Wuzuquan system of most schools consists mainly of Wuzuquan sets. At Level 1, for example, students learn San Zhan. At Level 2, they learn Er Shi Quan or Twenty Punches. At Level 3, they learn Qua Kok, or Hanging at a Corner, and so on. If you want to learn any Wuzuquan sets, including weapon sets, you can do so from the internet or from good books and videos. You have both the skills and knowledge to do so.

  5. I believe, and others may disagree, our system is better than a typical Wuzuquan system. In a typical Wuzuquan system only Wuzuquan Kungfu is taught; in our system you have a choice of a great variety of kungfu styles, including Wuzuquan. This gives you breadth. Even in Wuzuquan kungfu, only kungfu sets are taught, but in our system you develop internal force and apply combat application, This gives you depth.

  6. In a typical Wuzuquan system, and most other kungfu systems, students only learn kungfu. In our system we systematically and progressively apply our kungfu training to enrich our daily life.
The best way to approach learning the whole Wuzuquan system is to visit all Wuzuquan schools you can find, talk to the masters and their students, particularly regarding their system, their teaching, and the benefits you can expect from learning at their schools. An indirect way is to read up as much as you can from their publicity, as well as from the internet and good books.

It is unlikely for me to teach more Wuzuquan sets in the future. I consider the Special Wuzuquan Course you attended as the most comprehensive, giving a good introduction to not only the fundamental sets, but also the history, philosophy, force training, combat application and benefits of Wuzuquan.

Wuzuquan

Wuzuquan short weapons, photo taken from http://www.konghankungfu.com/market.html

This question and answer are reproduced from the thread Wu Zu Quan -- 10 Questions to Grandmasrter Wong in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.

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