Issue 78 - Tse Qigong Centre

Tong Bei has always had a very high reputation in China
of having some of the fiercest and most skilled fighters.
It is said that the founder of Chen Style Taiji also
learned Tong Bei Quan, and in fact the two styles have
some close correlations. Master Wu explained that the
original Chen style was in fact called LONG FIST, which
incorporated some aspects of Tong Bei into the form, which
then later became Chen Style (similar to Yang Lu Chan who
studied Chen Style, and later produced his own style - Yang
Style).
Master Wu explained that one of Tong Bei’s specialities
is that the teacher usually only has two - three serious indoor
students, so as to ensure that the students can absorb all aspects
of the art and reach a very high level. He said a good teacher
wants his students to get the real flavour of Tong Bei, and too
many students will dilute his teaching.
Master Wu explained that he became interested in Tong
Bei Quan after he had studied other martial arts for several
years. He said that as a young boy he had been quite weak
page 22 Qi Magazine Jan/Feb/Mar 2006
Wu Mao
Tong Bei
Quan
The practice of Tong Bei Quan (Long Arm Monkey Fist) dates
back far into Chinese history in the Hong Ming Dynasty, and was
first recorded as being practised in Shan Xi Province in about 1372.
Tong Bei, which means the power is generated from and through the
back and spine, continued to be practised throughout the Ming and
Qing Dynasties, and in fact an emperor during the Qing Dynasty
was so impressed by a Tong Bei expert, Master Guo Yong Fu, that he
declared this system to be at an almost mystical level.
and small, as well as being from a poor family, and was often
bullied at school. So he took up gongfu after he saw one of his
neighbours training.
He would have to get up at midnight every night to go to
his teacher’s house and practise till about 5am, when he would
return home, sleep, and then go to school. In 1964 his neighbour,
who felt that his gongfu was now pretty good, challenged Master
Wu’s current Tong Bei teacher (Bao Guan Yuan) and lost. When
Master Wu found out that this teacher worked at the same factory
as him, he sought him out and asked to be taken on as a student.
Master Wu trained for about four hours every day, and
after three years he had learned just one form. He said that his
teacher would teach just one or two movements each week, to
make sure that he had fully understood the principles and usage
of each one.
After ten years, his teacher said that he would not teach
him any more new information, but they would now go back to
the beginning lesson and start all over again, reviewing what he
had already learned.