Post by Shifu Tolson on Sept 15, 2019 13:13:52 GMT -5
The Origin, Naming & Importance of Luanjie/Lanjie
The Origin of the Form
Luanjie is believed to be one of the original forms created by the founder of Praying Mantis Kung Fu, Wang Lang. Along with Beng Bu and Ba Zhou, Luanjie is referred to as one of the Mother forms of Mantis fist. All later forms are referred to as Son forms and are viewed as being derived from the Mother forms.
The Historical Record of Luanjie
The first historical reference to Ba Zhou is found in the manuscript 拳 棍 槍 譜 Quan Gun Qiang Pu “Boxing, Staff, and Spear Fencing Manual” written by the famous Shandong mantis boxer Liang Xuexiang. Master Liang is known to have written his manual at the latter end of the Qing dynasty in 1842 C.E. Therefore, we know that this fist form can be verifiably traced back to a time at least one hundred and seventy-five years ago.
The Name Explains the Essence of the Form
The original name of the form was Luanjie. This name is still used in Taiji Tanglangquan and some Meihua Tanglangquan families. The Chinese characters that make up the name are 亂 (luàn) and 接 (jiē). Together, they translate as “Chaotically Connected”.
The name refers to the form’s emphasis of fighting with combinations of strikes that arrive from various angles and heights. There is no reliance in tanglangquan on one strike killing blows. We always attack with a multitude of strikes linked together like stitches on a sleeve. We also vary the angles, levels of attack and anatomical striking weapons to keep the enemy confused and off-balance.
The Theories & Cosmology of the Form
Luanjie consists of 36 "mother techniques" which include concepts such as Gang-Rou (Hard-Soft), Yin Yang (Opposites), and Xu Shi (Empty-Full). These six theories combined with the six lines of the trigrams equal the cosmological number thirty-six (6 X 6 = 36).
Luanjie becomes Lanjie
Over time, some families of tanglangquan replaced the first character of the form, 亂 (luàn) with 攔 (lán), and the second character, 接 (jiē) with 截 (jié). Thus, the name was changed from “Chaotically Connected” to “Intercept”. This may have been due to one of three possible reasons. Many Chinese martial arts masters were illiterate, so their literate students may have unknowingly chosen different characters for the name of the form. The students may have heard different characters spoken than their masters pronounced (very common with a language that is pronounced very differently from city to city). Finally, they may have chosen to highlight the form’s emphasis on intercepting and repelling attacks over the idea of its emphasis on connected attacking strikes.
The Importance of the Form to the Foundation of Tanglangquan
An old Yantai proverb states: 亂 接 的 手 八 肘 的 勁 蹦 補 的 蹘 蹦 跳 躍 摘 要 都 有- Luanjie for hands, Ba Zhou for energy, Beng Bu for footwork, Zhai Yao has all. Luanjie holds within it the foundational theories of linked striking, the chaotic delivery of strikes and the methods of intercepting, capturing and repelling the enemy’s attacks. Unlike Beng Bu, whose strategy deals with fighting larger opponents, Lanjie was designed for dealing with opponents of equal size and structure.
Lanjie is of utmost importance to the mantis practitioner, since all other tanglangquan forms play off of the foundation laid within the form.
The Origin of the Form
Luanjie is believed to be one of the original forms created by the founder of Praying Mantis Kung Fu, Wang Lang. Along with Beng Bu and Ba Zhou, Luanjie is referred to as one of the Mother forms of Mantis fist. All later forms are referred to as Son forms and are viewed as being derived from the Mother forms.
The Historical Record of Luanjie
The first historical reference to Ba Zhou is found in the manuscript 拳 棍 槍 譜 Quan Gun Qiang Pu “Boxing, Staff, and Spear Fencing Manual” written by the famous Shandong mantis boxer Liang Xuexiang. Master Liang is known to have written his manual at the latter end of the Qing dynasty in 1842 C.E. Therefore, we know that this fist form can be verifiably traced back to a time at least one hundred and seventy-five years ago.
The Name Explains the Essence of the Form
The original name of the form was Luanjie. This name is still used in Taiji Tanglangquan and some Meihua Tanglangquan families. The Chinese characters that make up the name are 亂 (luàn) and 接 (jiē). Together, they translate as “Chaotically Connected”.
The name refers to the form’s emphasis of fighting with combinations of strikes that arrive from various angles and heights. There is no reliance in tanglangquan on one strike killing blows. We always attack with a multitude of strikes linked together like stitches on a sleeve. We also vary the angles, levels of attack and anatomical striking weapons to keep the enemy confused and off-balance.
The Theories & Cosmology of the Form
Luanjie consists of 36 "mother techniques" which include concepts such as Gang-Rou (Hard-Soft), Yin Yang (Opposites), and Xu Shi (Empty-Full). These six theories combined with the six lines of the trigrams equal the cosmological number thirty-six (6 X 6 = 36).
Luanjie becomes Lanjie
Over time, some families of tanglangquan replaced the first character of the form, 亂 (luàn) with 攔 (lán), and the second character, 接 (jiē) with 截 (jié). Thus, the name was changed from “Chaotically Connected” to “Intercept”. This may have been due to one of three possible reasons. Many Chinese martial arts masters were illiterate, so their literate students may have unknowingly chosen different characters for the name of the form. The students may have heard different characters spoken than their masters pronounced (very common with a language that is pronounced very differently from city to city). Finally, they may have chosen to highlight the form’s emphasis on intercepting and repelling attacks over the idea of its emphasis on connected attacking strikes.
The Importance of the Form to the Foundation of Tanglangquan
An old Yantai proverb states: 亂 接 的 手 八 肘 的 勁 蹦 補 的 蹘 蹦 跳 躍 摘 要 都 有- Luanjie for hands, Ba Zhou for energy, Beng Bu for footwork, Zhai Yao has all. Luanjie holds within it the foundational theories of linked striking, the chaotic delivery of strikes and the methods of intercepting, capturing and repelling the enemy’s attacks. Unlike Beng Bu, whose strategy deals with fighting larger opponents, Lanjie was designed for dealing with opponents of equal size and structure.
Lanjie is of utmost importance to the mantis practitioner, since all other tanglangquan forms play off of the foundation laid within the form.