Shaolin Kung Fu: small Luohan form

Shaolin Buddha style (罗汉拳: luohan quan) by Liu Zhenhai, monk De Gen’s disciple __________________ - combat strategy: in Shaolin kung fu, ’Zen and martial art unite (禅拳合一)’. this style imitates the ’luohan’ (’Arhat’ in Sanskrit), the ones who have reached the Buddhahood enlightenment. it requires to avoid engagement in violence as far as possible. in a confrontation, ’peace is better than victory, retreat rather than engage, avoid rather than oppose, parry rather than block, block rather than hurt, hurt rather than wound, wound rather than kill, because life is respectful, and a life lost is lost forever.’ this precious style teaches avoidance and camouflage. its main tactics are: tactic 25 - “watch fire from other side of the river (隔岸观火)“: avoid putting yourself in opponent’s attack range. if his weapon is more effective at close/long range, try to get in confrontation with him at a far/close range. tactic 26 - “beauty tactic (美人计)“: mask your moves with inoffensive usual postures like walking, turning, seating, etc. tactic 27 - “hide the knife behind a smile (笑里藏刀)“: mask your attacking limb with another limb. the opponent cannot recognize and react properly to a masked attack. tactic 28 - “golden cicada sheds its shell (金蝉脱壳)“: when the opponent stops a masked attack, it just stops the covering mask and the cover parries opponent’s block for the main attacking limb to continue. these involve controlled moves that try to avoid, stop, or control the opponent, and low stances, turns, twists, and cover-ups that keep the main moves hidden to the last moment. __________________ - history: ’luohan quan’ is the purest and most representative style of Shaolin kung fu. it was developed by Shaolin monks as the earliest style based on the luohan 18 hands in the earlier eras of Shaolin temple. early Song dynasty (960s AD): at the beginning of the Song dynasty this style was first officially sorted out and recorded into the ’Shaolin kung fu manual’ under the supervision of chief monk Fuju (福居). __________________ - note: there are various other forms and styles named ’luohan quan’ in Chinese kung fu, and they are different from Shaolin luohan quan. these are just different styles with similar names. __________________ Shaolin Kung Fu tutorial: - bodybuilding: - techniques: - styles: - weapons: