Masters of Taiwan p2 Wu Tan Baji & Pigua

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

So excited to be finally releasing this series! Aside from that, have you checked out my latest tutorial yet? If you want to learn the classic Mantis Fist form White Ape Steals Peach, you can check it out at vimeo.com/ondemand/toutao and use the code TAIWANMASTERS to get 10% off!

[@poorkwamoi]

Seeing you working the spear and emulating the God Of Spears Li Shu Wen...lol Thank you so much for this Taiwan series...brings back so many fond memories....

[@nulltheliteralnothin]

Thank you so much. I would continue watching if the series was even longer. :)

[@bobli5315]

Going slightly off topic. Theres a mysterious "Chin Na Tiger Style" video series on youtube. I hope in the future you can investigate and do a series about it. This style involves a lot of take downs and rolling on the floor. Love this Taiwan series! 😍

[@xaviersmith957]

You remembered. Wow. I asked you if you ever got a chance to find authoring Bajiquan to please do a video and look and what you’ve done. I will support anything and everything you do everytime I can,

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

@@xaviersmith957 haha, I told you bro

[@ryanramos3491]

Rain or shine the students of Wu Tan are really commited to their training in Baji quan and Pigua zhang.Kudos to the students of Wu Tan Taiwan 👍👍👍

[@weiang820]

Seems most authentic and well preserved traditional art so far.

[@stevetartalia7116]

Thanks MSP! I've always held a special love & appreciation for Taiwan martial arts. ...this Baji shifu is obviously a national treasure! - Just seeing the title of this mini series wakes up an old desire to find out what ever happened to known 70s Taiwan shifu 'Lee Min Ching' he was much written about in that time in early issues of inside kung fu & its predecessor, 'Real Kung Fu' by way of one of my 80's sifus and staff writer 'Lawrence Tan' for those magazines. Lee Min Ching was known for his proficiency in Iron fan fighting. HIs personal style ( chi schwen shou) was said to be rooted in a fan system ( named?) 'Chi schwen Men? or, 'unusual dazzling fan' ...very hardcore combative & not flowery at all like clasical sets...last I heard in late 80s was he went into hiding on account of some old gambling debts...iwould be so cool if he's still around or had a known advanced disciple not hard to find ...Shifu Lee had many other unusual arts in his 'mixed salad bowl' ..I still practice unfinished little pieces/lines from some of his sets I leaned from Sifu/writer Lawrence Tan... gosh he often said of Shifu Lee regarding his abilities: "he was the only master who could respond with his gungfu naturally to any attack without flubbing or any need of having attacker put & hold his punch out in slow mo. Anyone know?

[@cristinelgheorghiu5294]

Very nice to see the very youngest generation trained in traditional martial arts, learning, and so on the tradition will be passed on and never dies ! Little boy is so lovely and speaks very good English, Taiwan will be in good hands.

[@longyuanchuan]

Hi! Wu Tan Venezuela member here! 🙋Thank you for your work! I'm proud of my martial family and heritage, it's nice to see more and more interest in our roots and our styles in the internet

[@ericpacurari6779]

I want to let the people of China/Taiwan that Americans love you and your beautiful rich culture!!!🙂💯👊🤙

[@chip877]

I studied with master Su in NYC , what an honor that was . what a great teacher and positive humble human being . (and funny) RIP

[@titoortiz5953]

Salam dari Sukoharjo. Senyum dan gesture Master Su mengingatkan saya akan almarhum paman. Paman saya seorang pendekar silat.

[@waynehansen9100]

Not only highly skilled but the attitude shines through

[@Theoriginalcoolguy]

I can’t stress enough my appreciation for the work that you are doing. The documenting you do of the various masters and styles before they are gone is so valuable for generations to come.

[@fujitafunk]

Loved seeing Morris perform Baji's Xiao Jia form! I'm also so surprised with his fluency in English. I taught ESL to kids in HK and China years ago and it's still a rarity that a 9 y/o has such good fluency and comprehension. It's not unheard of, but it's definitely not the norm. I hope he keeps it up! I wish not only him the best, but you as well. Your videos are much appreciated!

[@johnsnyder9420]

I love to see that the next generation is training hard and carrying forth this wonderful Martial legacy, thank you 🙏

[@entubadao]

Little master is very impressive too. Xie Xie.

[@seinundzeiten]

you make the best Kung Fu documentaries, it is incredible for historical posterity but also the need to revive these esoteric forms and make it more publicly known...

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

Thanks a lot!

[@jm7578]

I lived and trained in Taiwan and later mainland China for years. I also had the wonderful privilege to study Chinese in Taiwan. I miss those days.

[@taiwandeutscher]

Don’t tell me, I lived, studied and train 27 yrs in Taiwan, 2 in PRC. But now happily retired back in EU.

[@francoiswilliams]

Where did you study? I lived up on Yang Ming Mountain...

[@taiwandeutscher]

@@francoiswilliams, I lived in Jingmei, near Taida. Then in Gardencity, near Wulai/ Xindian, where I wrote my doctoral dissertation. Later I moved down south to work as a prof at a national university. I still own a house in Qishan/Meinong (Hakka area).

[@francoiswilliams]

@@taiwandeutscher Oh ok sounds cool... I came to Taiwan in 1990, and left like early 2000... You're in Germany now? I'm back in South Africa since last year...

[@taiwandeutscher]

@@francoiswilliamsI arrived in autumn of 1982, on and off for studies in Munich/Berlin/Beijing/Taibei. And yes, now retired back in Bavaria, practicing in the morning, gardening in the afternoon. I‘m loving it!

[@dropkickcorpse]

2:56 I like how his footwork exactly matches the "Penetration Step" drill still done in present day Wrestling. It's important to remember that many legitimate Kung Fu styles contain both striking and grappling despite modern media's common depiction of a silly magical "Dim Mak" fighting style.

[@Gambitfan]

Really looking forward to this one, and pleasantly surprised to see Piguazhang included as well!

[@Gieszkanne]

I found his claim very interesting that Pigua is hidden in Baji. They often teached together and are very complementary maybe once it was one system.

[@1ばかぶた]

That little kid is actually very strong. his strikes and defenses are producing wind sound, it is already can be used for self defense

[@robjohnson8662]

That young boy has the makings of a future master and lineage holder.

[@stefanschleps8758]

Thank you Will. This is one of my favorite videos from you to date. Master Lin has a wealth of knowledge and I'm glad you captured some of it for the rest of us. Taiwan is a great nation with many high level kung fu masters around the island. I look forward to my next trip there. Again thanks for sharing with us. All the best! Laoshr #60 Ching Yi Kung Fu Association

[@robertocalvo934]

Such a strong dude, and very friendly too

[@elliotvernon7971]

Very enjoyable episode - look forward to more!

[@themadrazorback2019]

So wonderful the young man was able to demonstrate his skills!

[@djonniebangkok]

This is really a great episode!

[@justinharrison285]

Thank you Will, super interesting to see these methods of training, appreciate your work as always!

[@kirvin2]

Very impressive. That young man is well on his way to becoming a great master.

[@ambulocetusnatans]

That kid is going to be famous someday, I bet.

[@ruiseartalcorn]

Brilliant! Great stuff! Many thanks :)

[@heruka369]

I trained years ago with the WuTang branch of theirs in Alaska. Really nice and informative video and that kid was great!

[@thebestcentaur]

Finally! Thanks for this! I really wish I could find an instructor that taught both Baji and Pigua as a complete style again. The former is difficult enough to find stateside, but the latter is effectively impossible. Both are probably taught together in Mengcun, but traveling there in this social and political climate is likely not only prohibitively expensive, but also extremely ill-advised. Profound sadness. Perhaps one day-I hold out hope.

[@Livingtree32]

That’s just your prejudice. It’s entirely ok to travel there, I know several people who go annually and it’s not nearly as expensive as the big Shaolin and Wudang schools, actually pretty affordable. If you’re interested, I would highly recommend you go, since I practice the style from there myself. Pigua is not a focus there, they have a Pigua form, but it’s interwoven into the Bajiquan forms and thus applications and fighting strategies already, it doesn’t really need to be practiced separately.

[@Internalflow33]

@@Livingtree32 SHIT FOR 🧠

[@jadenng7569]

I just finished training with my uncle and his Shixiong in this branch of Baji Quan not too long ago. The Mabu training is very strenuous and it involves switching stances while in Mabu (small gongbu, xubu, qixing bu, longxing bu etc.). The form that was demonstrated at 16:57 is called Xiao Baji and is the foundational form of the system, and it is also a major strain on the lower body because the entire form has no high stances and every movement is done slowly to emphasise power generation and breathing. Grandmaster Lin is well known in the Taipei martial arts community for being the martial arts supervisor for a TV show in Taiwan about a group of university students learning Baji Quan.

[@D--man]

Thanks for the video! Nice to see some Bajiquan. It is a very interesting style. The "little master" is pretty good after months. Very impressive.

[@bethelacademyofmartialarts3966]

Great episode, thank you for exposing all of us to these styles and systems

[@erginbozun1755]

Fantastic video! Such a lovely teacher, yet he is strict on correct form and execution.

[@Fritz999]

Now, steals peach? He stole them all and was proud of it, and was a master fighter. My Hero!

[@lauriehartley9808]

This is a very enjoyable instructional video.

[@nulltheliteralnothin]

Enjoyed the content. I always love learning about new styles, especially iconic styles. Followed along with the exercises. Horse stance approach is very interesting. Thank you.

[@kouryuken]

Thanks for the share, brother I hope you visited Master Adam Hsu too, he is the true master! Thank you very much for the hard work.

[@taatjauh6742]

I saw Kenji goh spirit lives on that boy!!!!

[@ryanleopold1763]

there's another awesome wutan school in tainan called maita, the master guan fengzhong is amazing and has had a school since his twenties, he's very open to students and is a very friendly silly fun and skilled teacher, I trained there for two 1/2 months and while students typically go only once a week (i was allowed to go twice a week for my purposes) i still feel i learned a lot, great for an enthusiast with a longer time frame, maybe not the intensive training some may be looking for, though it is possible that if you wanted something more intense you could arrange it with him.

[@thomasparker6072]

Beautiful video thank you so much

[@UatuEd]

Little master!

[@magootsfitness7873]

Great work thanks for sharing all your videos!

[@phuongtrangdo]

A great episode like always. Wish that you can have more of the Spear part and explanation of WuTan spear

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

I love spear, will have to do a whole video on it next time

[@markherron3067]

Liu Yun qiao was apparently renowned for his spear. So more on this would have been interesting.

[@taiwandeutscher]

In Taiwan they mostly use that heavy dark wood, not very flexible, called Zhang‘er. Quite different to waxwood poles.

[@phuongtrangdo]

@@taiwandeutscher thank you for the great info. Could you help to write Zhanger in traditional text or any links to the wood name. So I can look it up. Thanks in advance

[@taiwandeutscher]

@@phuongtrangdo, it is 丈二. The wood mostly used is 九層木 , also some use the air roots of 榕樹, but the production of Zhang‘er with that wood is very complicated and takes a long time, a kind of secret.

[@chip877]

Great training ! thanks for posting !!!

[@bajizhandaokungfuuk]

Wonderful video, thank you for sharing🙏

[@TheLockWhisperer]

Banger as usual !! 🎉

[@fathersonsltd213]

Great episode and the wee master was amazing 🙌🙌

[@luftjager4966]

Love this video.. good info abt Wutan

[@reginaldwelkin]

I'd love to see more sparring using this style. It is very subtle at times, from what I remember.

[@danielbarth]

Is there a historical link between Tongbei and Pigua? There must be, it has so many similar ideas...

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

I think there must be for sure

[@Livingtree32]

Hi Daniel. In Hongkong gibt es eine Pigua Linie, die behauptet Pigua sei ursprünglich eine Form aus einem größeren Tongbei System gewesen, die dann zu einem eigenen Stil ausgebaut wurde. Inwiefern das stimmt, weiß ich nicht, aber zumindest steht die Idee im Raum!

[@natschooler]

Nice styles…good teacher. Good to see some traditional training methods…

[@rodgerbane3825]

Some of the Jibengong shown is fantastic stuff. Looked damn near impossible to do. I wonder, in Taiwan if, someone shows up and wants to learn Baji, they start them out with that first bit of Jibengong and the person either quits in frustration or, they master that exercise at which point a lot of the later "more advanced" training will seem easy by comparison.

[@abdullah1976m]

Thank you kid master 🙏🙌champion

[@Dethrey_]

Incredible stuff also privileged to be able to see these videos. thank you for sharing. Do all of the Taiwan military train for hand-to-hand combat using Wu Tan Baji and Baji Quan.

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

Thanks for watching! I’m not sure if ALL the military train it or what, but if they did it would likely be a modified version without forms and stuff

[@MrLouladakis]

great video the historic referrance and the analysis rather than always show techniques is more interesting and helps you become more grounded!. keep it up!. thank you very much!.

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

For sure, it was good to focus on the basics training for a whole video. Next episode is all about application, so a nice mix

[@1929hellbox]

Thank you for sharing your kung-fu.

[@luisbarraza6931]

Gracias profesor 😊

[@MustAfaalik]

How about following the lineage of Master Wang Shu Jin in Taiwan??

[@Metaphysicaljournal]

Like a nice mix of history lesson and discovering about arts I’m curious to learn more about.

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@frankmartinez4856]

Thanks Sifu 😊this is Five Stars information 😮

[@noklarok]

shoutout little Morris, inspiring practitioner

[@waleryjantrzesniewski5790]

Dziekuje bardzo!Блогодарю!CZESC.

[@russellhawkins366]

Wonderful...

[@mulli032]

That little kid was GETTIN’ IT on that dog skin bag. 😮 we usually don’t do much dedicated iron palm/dog palm with young kids until they are older teens mainly out of concern for developing bones and joints. But I wonder if they know something we don’t as far as safety? Tbh, a teenager with iron palm might be a danger to himself and others too lol.

[@Bagoth2]

I mean they did say that their secret is the dog skin, which I haven't heard before. Which is interesting, the herbology of martial arts is the least talked about or the least adhered to part of the art. Most people throw the herbology away as nonsense, but if you ever see people who were trained with a complete understanding of that herbology, its a different kind of person that is not only healthy for the duration of their lives but have incredible long-term gains as well.

[@poorkwamoi]

The herbalogy is a big secret and are usually reserved for the indoor students they deem most loyal after observation that they are also folks of good character.. The external dei da jow formula as well as the internal trauma pills and medicine plus qi gong practice as well as the meridian pressure points and believe it or not, art or calligraphy to help balance out the martial/violent aspect of it.. I wish that I had stayed with my shifu long enough and was dedicates enough but I ended up with muay Thai and BJJ and wrestling... I don't regret it but wish I had kept up with gong fu for long term health aspect as well as developing better Jin and internal power... I mainly practice Taiji now and BJJ but have been following Will and watching the different masters basic yet healthy cultivation bits and practicing here and there... This video brought back Kao, for me...

[@mulli032]

We do dog skin. It more or less can take the place of other medicine like dit da jow. Buuut... it's also sort of a sympathetic magic sort of explanation as to why. Does it maybe help with conditioning? Subjectively, anecdotally, I think so. How? I have no idea.

[@jaserror]

wait, baji has shoot drills??? the first drill seems like a very low single leg takedown stance.

[@bretttan]

Very nice. Thank you.

[@grounddragonmartialarts]

Great episode!

[@taiwandeutscher]

Taiwan‘s Zhang‘er is a beast, no? And the rains are not so comfy, if they last for weeks, lol! Great work!

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

For sure! Was hard filming with that rain constantly starting and stopping

[@joezane]

Really great stuff.

[@davidlandeo5722]

Very good characteristics

[@Redlurk3]

The spear must be fantastic practice for developing grip / wrist strength

[@syung8754]

Really interesting

[@joanneallton-twist7906]

Beautiful squat doing the walks

[@Anonymous-yh4ol]

Wonderful video. I enjoyed myself. Thanks for part 2. I'm not sure, but did you said "Taiwanese Hung Gar"? If so, I'm looking forward to it.

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

My friend Ghys has learnt Taiwanese Hung Gar, but I didn't film any. You could check his channel Wushu Quest to see if he has covered it

[@Anonymous-yh4ol]

​@@MonkeyStealsPeach I'll definitely check it out. Thank you

[@Минотавр-ю6я]

Thank you very much for Baji Quan videos!

[@elenagrebenarov3943]

hi! are you still in taiwan? we’re currently here again to meet our teacher who is also teaching wutan style

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

Sorry, this video was filmed back in February

[@noklarok]

is Shaolin style Baji legitimate? it's the only style i can find near me

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

I've never heard of Baji being taught at Shaolin

[@ptiz6231]

@@MonkeyStealsPeachThe only thing they are related to is the monk Lai, who himself is a myth in the origin of Baji. Wu Zhong, the first ever practitioner of Baji didn't take the credit of creating this martial art, instead he claimed this was taught by a rebellion disguised as a monk called "Lai". When Shaolin re-established its martial art collection after WW2, an ex-monk of Shaolin-Su Fa(素法), returned his knowledge as well as many other martial arts after learning from different masters during the wars. Baji was one of them, but Su Fa also added a story with his Baji, that the very first master Lai once travelled to Shaolin and practiced with the monks. Hence the Shaolin collected the Baji, and the Baji integrated a few clinching/joint techniques from Shaolin. But that's a myth based on another myth. Su Fa himself learned Baji from Wu's lineage （6th gen master Wu XiuFeng).

[@johnchiang485]

Hi Will, Great video as usual. Question: Does Master Lin teach to the public? If he does, can you provide his school infos? Also, you should have done a praying mantis video on the late Master Su. Thanks...

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

Thanks John, yes he teaches at the Wu Tan hq in Taipei. It should come up on google maps if you just search 武壇

[@poorkwamoi]

Master Su Yu Chang? Are you a student from one of his many branches? I was taught by one of his European students that was in the U.S back in early 90s for three years and then met GM Su in NY a few times with his seminars... I couldn't believe the power master Su exhibited in that small frame...crazy power and agility..

[@johnchiang485]

I studied under Master Su for about a year back in New York. He's known as lightning hands, not really for his power.

[@NigelAinscoe]

We have the best forms in Wutan.

[@MrHixz]

Wow is this master Liu the master Li Shuwen's pupil in Kenji manga? :D

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

Yea

[@evgenyrybin2394]

Excellent 👍

[@harryyauwhannes3958]

Master liu was in kenji manga ?

[@yogi8337]

Yes basically

[@1888swordsman]

I attempted that leg training. I say attempted.... FAIL. But I will keep practicing. Respect

[@ericpacurari6779]

Also this video was amazing!💯💯💯🤟

[@icedgaspare_]

He was bad ass

[@Gieszkanne]

Very interesting. And Babu Tang Lang is also influenced from Baji Quan I think. I once read that the full term of horse stance is horse riding stance. Actually this make much more sense to me because the hose stand on 4 legs so what should be the meaning. But this narrow horse stance imitate really the posture like you would sit/ride on a horse.

[@MonkeyStealsPeach]

Yes, its Qi Ma Shi… literally horse riding stance

[@ShaolinLT]

cute kid:)

[@JKDVIPER]

#viperjkd SON TSI “I enjoy these.” 🐉😎🤛

[@rul520]

很棒

[@marioshinobisama]

I want to see a Bajiquan sparring. In training it looks so cool, but I have doubts about its application.

[@weshayter7903]

👍👍👍

[@thelion706]

Comic Kenji

[@stephenrimbach1311]

These techniques look great in a static situation however I've never seen them used in a real fight why is that?

[@arsenarsenios4923]

😅😅😅

[@Samir-hi8wf]

Please translate vidéo in french.😀

[@Dan-fp8hf]

名師出高徒

[@EvgeniiErman]

🐼💯💓💣

[@worryphree]

As soon as they brought out the dog pelts, I'm like naw, gotta go.

[@duckwings6245]

I believe it's a mistranslation as those making the video misunderstood as well. First of all, I think the pelt you see at 9:08 is surely a type of fur but I don't think it's a dog's fur (too thick, more like a wolf). Second, the pelts aren't necessary for this way of conditioning your hands, which exists in many other forms of Wushu such as Wing Chun. I know in Wing Chun you start with beans then progress to sand then iron sand. I am guessing the pelts here work the same way. You gradually remove the layers the pelts as your hands become more "conditioned". What the Mast really said was "狗皮膏藥" (literal translation: dog skin patch medicine.) According to Wiki, it really was herbal paste sitting atop of dog skin in the past (for its elasticity and ability to keep warm). Nowadays, you can get this patch, which really is like a Salonpas or IcyHot patch or Tiger Balm but more potent in terms of healing factor, in any Chinese traditional clinics in Taiwan. It's a mix of herbal paste that sit on top of a gauze cut to order and applied to where the Chinese Medicine doctor think it needs to go on your body to improve circulation and heal bruises. So what Master said was after you conditioned your hands, you will use "狗皮膏藥" to heal the microfracture and bruises on your hands. Wing Chun does a similar thing by rubbing with "藥酒" (medicine wine), which uses basically the same ingredients of the paste but they are soaked in typically a yellow wine for certain amount of days. You then dip your whole forearms in it after the conditioning session. Now, each style of wushu is suppose to have their own secret formula for the patch or wine that's supposed to help it be extra "potent". That's what I heard, but can't verify this. Most Chinese traditional medicine stores/clinics should be able to help you make this paste or wine. Hope this helps. I am not so sure about the "hand/fore arm conditioning" personally. I think it really just dulls your sensitivity to pain so you can strike harder than you normally can. Also, because of the constant microfracture and healing from it, the theory is your bones will become harder and therefore allows you to strike with an iron like fist. Again, I am not so sure about that. I started the process in my younger days but ultimately thought it wasn't a good idea. I do think, the constant striking against a hard object was helpful in "focusing the strength of your strike" though.

[@worryphree]

@@duckwings6245 Dude, they're dog pelts.

[@theewatchman37]

They killed dogs for their pelts ? 😥