Bu Fa (Stepping Techniques)

Beside the usual Kung Fu stances like Gong Bu (Bow stance) or Ma Bu (Horse stance), Zhu Sifu taught several stepping techniques distinct to White Crane. Here, I should admit that his Hung Gar background may have influenced his technique, or it may be that there are only a set number of stances that work with open hand fighting. The Hun Gar stances can be found here, and were often seen during our White Crane forms.

• Xing Xing Bu (Gorilla Step) -- This form of stepping is like a Bow stance turned sideways. The feet are set wide like a Horse stance, with the lead foot slightly forward. Both knees are bent, with the lead leg bent more, and the rear leg bent enough to sink the weight down. Weight is almost evenly distributed (55%/45%). The feet are both pointing straight forward, creating a corresponding tension in the hips and knees. Punches are thrown, initiating from the feet and hips, with the torso and shoulders twisting to add power. As the punch ends, the shoulders should be turned completely 90% away from the direction of the opponent for maximum extension. As each punch ends, it chains into the next punch, which correspondingly moves the rear leg forward to become the lead leg, giving the practitioner a slightly lumbering "gorilla-like" look. The stance is designed to be used once a bridge has been established and the opponent is within striking range. The footwork and stance-work is designed to maintain striking contact with the opponent, raining strikes on him, while you either drive through him or shift to flank around him. A deep stance is used to maintain a strong base for strikes, and to resist takedown attempts, while higher stance can be used to maintain distance or establish a neutral distance again.


• Zui Bu (Chasing step) -- This was taught as an advanced footwork, designed to prevent someone from escaping. It was initiated as an open-hand Chuin to initiate the bridge, then as the opponent steps back, you continually step forward and Chuin.
  


• Jumping Crane step -- This was found in certain White Crane forms and designed to be used to close the distance quickly or escape in some direction. The rear leg pushes forward as if taking a half-step forward. Before you finish the step, quickly bring the lead leg (now behind) up and raise the knee (which can also be a kick). The final effect is what looks like a leap towards the opponent.
  


• Leg switching -- This was never given a formal name by Zhu Sifu, but it was a basic footwork drill used to develop balance and agility in the feet. It can also be used as defense against a leg sweep or kick. Simply start with a forward Bow stance. Keeping weight shifting to a minimum, quickly pull the lead foot back to your rear foot, and then put your rear foot to where the lead foot was. This should ideally be done with one single motion, taking care not to shift the weight too much, and not to bounce.
  

Ti Fa (kicking techniques)

Kicking:
The White Crane style does not include a wide variety of kicks. Similar to a lot of Nanfang (Southern) Kung Fu's most of the leg techniques focus on footwork in order to open up the hands for bridging. I'll touch more on that later. Note that many of these kicks were never given formal names as they were taught by Zhu Sifu. These kicks were also often done with corresponding arm movements, ostensibly to distract from or "hide" the kicks, but also at close-range, they can be used as grabbing techniques for a throw or sweep.

• Leg kick: This is done with either leg, although the rear leg has the best leverage. It's executed like a roundhouse kick, striking with the top of the foot (ideally at the top of the ankle when the foot is extended straight out) at the calf, knees, thighs, or inner thigh.


• Roundhouse Kick: This is similar to a karate or Tae Kwon Do round-house kick. High kicks were done as part of forms and practice, but for our applications, they'd usually be targeting the abdomen and groin.


• Spin Kick: Another kick done as a balance drill. The rear leg pulls up as the body turns away from your opponent, and then extends up to hit the head with the heel.


• Reverse Roundhouse: The kicking leg is brought up and chambered at the knee, with the hips slightly turned away from the kicking leg. Simultaneously as the kick is extended, the kicks turn in the direction of the kicking leg. The target can be the groin, head, or knees. The striking surface is the top of the foot. For a knee kick, this striking surface is actually the edge of the foot, which is then followed by a stomp to collapse the opponent's leg to the ground.


• Crescent Kick: Both inside and outside crescent kicks (similar to karate or TKD). The hand or forearm is usually extended so that the kick slaps against it. This is done only for training purposes, in order to condition the hands, train for balance, and to build leg flexibility. In fighting application, most of these kicks would be low.


• Spinning Flying Roundhouse Kick: This is a rather impractical kick and mostly used for agility, strength, and balance training. I believe this is called tornado kick in TKD. The kick initiates by taking a step forward with the rear leg, which will end up as the kicking leg. As your agility increase this can be a sweep or a roundhouse kick. As you continue forward, turn your shoulders and head around to quickly "spot" your opponent, while simultaneously bringing your other leg (the leg that was originally forward) straight up by the knee. As you continue to rotate in air, turn your hips and perform a roundhouse kick with your kick leg. If you are just starting and are lacking in lift or flexibility, it can be done as a crescent kick instead. The higher you bring this knee, the higher you will jump and the higher your kick will be. You should prefer to get distance rather than height with this jump. Ideally you should be able to hit a focus pad at about head-level at about 20 feet away from your initial standing position.


• Stomp kick: The kicking leg comes straight forward, with the foot turned outwards in order to expose the heel. Targets are the leg, hip-flexors, or the abdomen.


• Snapping Kick: This was taught as similar to a Tan-Tui kick from the Long Fist style. The kicking leg comes almost straight up from the ground, strikes the target (usually groin, or thigh) and quickly pulls back to a chambered position with the knees bent. The idea behind this kick is to imagine your leg as a bow string, with the snapping out and back similar to the "twang" (or "tan") vibration if you snapped a bow string back. In the old days of China (before mechanization) cotton was separated by hand using a bow-like tool with a tightly pulled wiring string. The string was pulled and snapped on the cotton (thereby separating it) by banging on it with a small hammer, thus making a "tan-tan-tan" sound. This was the inspiration for the naming of this technique.

9 White Crane Strikes

Chuan -- "to penetrate, to break through, to weave, to bypass"   This is a straight punch starting at the hips or with the hand behind the body.  The energy is generated with the hips and shoulders, ending with the punching hand's palm facing down.  A variation can be done with the open-hand, as either a block or a neck grab into clinch.

Pao -- "to throw up; also firecracker or cannon"    Starting again at the hips or behind the body, the punch rises up, turning as you go.  It ends at approximately head level with the palm facing up.  Striking surface can either be the knuckles (as an uppercup), the 2nd knuckle of the fist towards the face/arm/nose, or the thumb in a sweeping motion towards the temple or neck.  A variation can be done as a reverse (Fan) Pao striking with the lead hand, circling from the bottom and striking with the backfist or the bottom of the fist.  This technique can also be used as a scooping or a sweeping block for kicks or low-strikes.

Kou -- "to scoop, to strike, to cover"  Starts with the punch winding up behind the ear, or behind your head (as if winding up for a baseball pitch).  This can either come straight down, or at a side-angle, with the 2nd knuckle of the fist as the striking surface.  Reverse (Fan) Kou can also be used where the hand turns as the fist is about to strike so that you are hitting with the backfist.  This fist can also be used to strike at the forearm & elbow of incoming punches.

Zhua -- "to claw"  There are many variations of this.  One of the basics is to sweep the off-hand across face-level as if capturing a punch, and then using the Zhua to capture the elbow or shoulder of the arm in a down-ward pushing & grasping motion.  Other variations include side Zhua, Zhua to the face or neck as a take-down, and circular Zhua to capture and control an arm.

Wo -- "to turn"  This is done similar to a boxing hook, except that the striking surface includes the thumb, which is used to "scrape" an attacker's arm, or to strike at the neck, temple, or arm-pit area.  The offhand also uses a circular motion outwards and can be used as another strike or a block.

Mao -- "to drop as an anchor"  The off-hand reaches up at head-level and swing down, possibly making a scraping attack with the thumb-joint against a neck or shoulder area.  The striking hand starts behind the body, and joins the momentum of the off-hand.  The punch swings up and then arcs down, similar to a boxing over-hand.

Bian -- "to whip"  This can be done to the ribs, solar pexus, neck, or temple area.  In basics practice, two Bians are done at the same time with both arms.  The motion is initiated by bringing the arms to cross at the chest.  The the arms whip out as the body turns with the elbow and wrist relaxed, and striking as a whip with the knuckle of the fist.  A variation can also be done by whiping from outside to in, and striking with the 2nd knuckle of the fist.

Po -- "crane wing strike"  This done with an open hand, whipping in a similar manner as Bian, as if you are attempting to splash water.  Targets are face, neck, ribs, and groin.

Cha -- "to plant, to insert, to plug"  This is a short-range punch with the arm bent, striking with the knuckles of the fist, keeping  the elbow in tight, and not allowing the arm to fulling extend.  Viable targets are the groin, lower and upper abdominals, or to the hip flexors.

WTF is White Crane?

Hi and welcome to the first step of a thousand-mile journey.  :-)

White Crane Kung Fu is an often misunderstood style.  One of the fore-most reasons for this misunderstanding is probably because there are different styles of "White Crane".  There are wikipedia entries for each style, so I won't waste too much exposition on them.

• Fujian or Fukien White Crane:  This is a short-range southern style of Kung Fu known for qigong breathing, Qin Na, and "crane wing" strikes using the open hand.
• Crane style Kung Fu:  This is not a style by itself, but most often a part of the 5-animal styles, most notably from Hung Gar.  The techniques are similar to the Fujian White Crane style strikes.
• Tibetan White Crane, aka Lama Fist or Lama Pai, aka Hop Gar:  This is a hybrid style, most probably transported from Tibet, using characteristically large swinging arm strikes and jumping footwork.   

From the time I started training with Zhu Sifu in about 2002 to about 2006 when I left Arizona, we had always simply called it "White Crane".  From my limited understanding of these other styles, it seems like Zhu Sifu's White Crane is more of a 70-30 hybrid of Tibetan White Crane with Fujian style White Crane.  Of course, sticking to "styles" and "lineages" as we know them now is more of a modern phenomenon.  Most Chinese Martial Artists trained in multiple styles and incorporating techniques or even entire forms into your own style was normal practice.  Before becoming a practitioner of White Crane, Zhu Sifu was already proficient in his own Zhu Gar (or Zhu family style kung fu) as well as Hung Gar, and perhaps other styles as well.  

From talking with Zhu Sifu, his direct Sifu was a man named Wen Yuen Tak who, like him had also learned a variety of martial arts, and was purported to be a great fighter.  The story is that Wen came across a man named Leung Chen Ting who was fleeing from some people (I never got who).  Wen gave him refuge for 3 years, after which Leung taught him the martial arts that would become his lineage of White Crane.  Of course, I have no idea of the voracity of this story.  It could be true, or maybe just a story.  Historically, that time would have roughly coincided with one of the most chaotic times in Chinese Hhstory, when the Empress Dowager held a weakgrip on the country, as it was simultaneously falling into the hands of colonial powers as devolving into banditry and warlordism.  So, it would not have been at all surprising for anyone (let alone a martial artists) to have gotten into trouble with any number of forces (warlords, bandits, colonials, imperial troops, etc) and have had to fled for his life.

In the end, I think the martial arts itself is more important than the lineage, and how you know, train, and use the martial arts is more important than the technique.