Taiwan Kung Fu

Wai Jia: The Kung Fu Forum Kung Fu Forum
41

In Taipei, you can find a lot of people who practice Chang Chuan styles, plus a lot of Bei Tanglang (Northern Mantis) styles; Baji, etc. Most common, though, it Taiji. Outside of Taipei, different styles of Fujian Crane seemed more common. When I was there, there was a beginning a fad of weird ‘qigong’ among a lot of people who would freak out and act possessed at qigong demos/events, including lots of audience members.

It was not so common for people who practice kung fu to do so much into adulthood, except for Taiji. After university, most quit kung fu to devote their time to their careers and other endeavors.

*Forgot to mention that there’s a good Wing Chun group in Taipei headed by Lo Man-Kam.

42

One thing that I would add is that the Japanese influence is often overlooked when Taiwanese martial arts are discussed. The 50 year Japanese period had a major impact on the course of Taiwanese martial arts. The reason Taiwan has excellent kendo and judo clubs is the Japanese/Taiwanese police connection. That also accounts for Taiwan’s strong Tae Kwon Do showings.

Another interesting aspect to Taiwanese martial arts is the effect that government sponsorship had (and still has). A brief example of that is—the Taiwanese government will give a lifetime government teaching job to anyone who wins an international martial arts competition for Taiwan. I helped a friend of mine draft the law that established that program.

It was my one and only experience as a “martial arts/sports law” attorney!

take care,
Brian

43

Agreed. I had spoken to some (mostly older) Taiwanese who practiced Japanese MA and the influence is very strong. I used to help out at a Taipei-area MA supply store for a while, and the boss there was into Kendo. One day he asked me why I waste my time with CMA, and that I should practice Kendo. :slight_smile:

Over a few-days’ period, another worker from that shop and I set up the mats for the judo room at a newly-built police facility.

Besides the Japanese occupation, I believe some other strong factors in the popularity of JMA (as well as TKD) is that the teaching is better-organized; goals are generally more clear-cut; students wear white, nicer-looking uniforms; and the fact that, among many, the CMA have a poor image connected with gangsters and quacks. Given that, I can see why more parents there would rather send their kids to TKD class than to kung fu. Also, the CMA are also viewed by many there (in some cases, rightfully so) as “hua chuan hsiu tui” (flowery fists/embroidery legs), meaning only good for show, whereas the JMA and TKD are viewed as straightforward and practical.

44

[QUOTE=Jimbo;1131270]In Taipei, you can find a lot of people who practice Chang Chuan styles, plus a lot of Bei Tanglang (Northern Mantis) styles; Baji, etc. Most common, though, it Taiji.[/QUOTE]

Anyone know if any Bak Mei Pai is practiced anywhere in Taiwan?

[QUOTE=brianlkennedy;1131386]One thing that I would add is that the Japanese influence is often overlooked when Taiwanese martial arts are discussed. The 50 year Japanese period had a major impact on the course of Taiwanese martial arts. The reason Taiwan has excellent kendo and judo clubs is the Japanese/Taiwanese police connection. That also accounts for Taiwan’s strong Tae Kwon Do showings.[/QUOTE]

I find that intriguing. Why does the Japanese occupation account for the Taiwanese showing strong in a Korean art? Bear in mind I’ve never been outside the states, so I acknowledge my ignorance in advance.

45

Although TKD is a Korean art, it originally was based on Shotokan karate. Also, the way TKD is taught is based along the lines of JMA, even though the current, Olympic-style TKD is several steps removed from what it once was.

TKD is also the art taught in the Taiwan military. It used to be CMA (not sure which style or styles, though; Baji??). I was told that during the 1960s or '70s, they switched to TKD because some influential man (a general? a politician?) witnessed a TKD demo and was highly impressed with the board and brick breaking, and felt it was easier to master than CMA.

As for Bak Mei Pai, it may very well be practiced in Taiwan, but I never personally saw or heard of any practitioners there.

Off the top of my head, here’s a list of the CMA styles I personally saw there, which includes:

Chang Chuan (includes Tantui/Cha Chuan, Mei Hua, etc.)

Tanglang (N. Mantis, including 7-Star, 8-Step, 6-Harmony, and Secret Door styles)

Various styles of Fujian White Crane

Wing Chun

Hung Gar (the style I saw was very different from the Lam Sai-Wing lineage often seen in Hong Kong)

Hou Chuan (which was a southern Monkey system)

Hsing-I

Bagua

Taiji (Chen and Yang styles)

Pao Chui (Cannon Fist)

Ying Zhao (N. Eagle Claw)

Baji

Pi Qua

Shuai Jiao

Yen Ching Chuan

Tien Shan Pai

I had heard of Choy Lee Fut (Cailifo) being taught in Taiwan, but I never once actually saw an exemple of it there.

46

Jimbo,
Which martial arts store did you work at? The two I used to buy at most frequently were Bokaido and another one over by the Botantical Garden (I have spaced out on the second one’s name, it started with "Ta---- and was owned by a set of brothers). Bokaido made outstanding judo gi–I still have and use my Bokaido gi.

take care,
Brian
p.s. what years were you there?—have we met?

47

speaking of Bokaido, does anyone have a good connection with them? I would like to order shuai jiao uniforms, and going through USSJA they charge 95 for jacket alone, but when we bought them directly from Bokaido, they were 65 for jacket, belt and pants. The trouble is, Bokaido only sold it to us if we walked in the door, and bought them personally,not by mail. It seems the association has a monopoly on them.

48

[QUOTE=brianlkennedy;1131410]Jimbo,
Which martial arts store did you work at? The two I used to buy at most frequently were Bokaido and another one over by the Botantical Garden (I have spaced out on the second one’s name, it started with "Ta---- and was owned by a set of brothers). Bokaido made outstanding judo gi–I still have and use my Bokaido gi.

take care,
Brian
p.s. what years were you there?—have we met?[/QUOTE]

Hi, Brian. The one I worked at was named Ta Chung Martial Arts Supply. It was on Nan Chang Road, near Fu Chou St. I actually worked at (or ‘helped out’) there around the years 1990 through 1992, closer to the end of my Taiwan period. My whole Taiwan period was in part of 1984, then from Jan. 1985 until the very end of 1992, minus the year 1987, which was spent back in the States. But we probably didn’t meet; at the shop, I was usually helping out, part-time, to assemble globes for world maps in the basement, or stuffing punching bags/assembling Chinese spears in the back, or helping move supplies upstairs.

I recently went on Google(?) maps and used that 360-degree photo thingy to revisit my old haunts and “walk the streets” online in Taipei, and tried to find Ta Chung. It was gone, or at least I couldn’t see it where I remembered it was.

49

[QUOTE=Jimbo;1131402]Although TKD is a Korean art, it originally was based on Shotokan karate. Also, the way TKD is taught is based along the lines of JMA, even though the current, Olympic-style TKD is several steps removed from what it once was.

TKD is also the art taught in the Taiwan military. It used to be CMA (not sure which style or styles, though; Baji??). I was told that during the 1960s or '70s, they switched to TKD because some influential man (a general? a politician?) witnessed a TKD demo and was highly impressed with the board and brick breaking, and felt it was easier to master than CMA.

As for Bak Mei Pai, it may very well be practiced in Taiwan, but I never personally saw or heard of any practitioners there.[/QUOTE]

Oh, that makes sense Jim. All these years I was thinking TKD was a Korean art. But it was actually an offshoot of Shotokan. Fascinating. Kind of like how in Pencak Silat tournament competition, the three top world powers are Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam; though Pencak Silat isn’t even native to Vietnam. Does Taiwanese TKD have as much of an emphasis on aerial kicking as the Korean TKD? And how do the TKD guys do in the Taiwan Lei Tai competitions?

50

There’s really not a lot of difference between the current TKD you’ll see in Taiwan, Korea, US, etc. Most of what I saw there was WTF-style TKD, which is the type you see in Olympic-style competition. So I would imagine it’s the same in Taiwan as far as any aerial kicking is concerned. The older-style TKD, like the ITF-style, was definitely more karate-like. WTF was an attempt to further “Koreanize” TKD and remove more Japanese characteristics from it.

In terms of Lei Tai competitions in Taiwan, I saw a few Taiwanese fighters who used TKD to good effect. They were not only pure TKD, but practiced a mixture of things. I knew two of the fighters from the Taiwanese team whose fighting style was the same as Sanda, but with more TKD-style kicks. Their kicks were very good and very effective, but their favorite tactic was to ultimately get in and throw you to the floor.

51

Interesting. Thanks.