The "alternative" One Finger Zen

[Hwan King]

Dear all,

Bumped into the following published at http://english.cri.cn/3100/2008/07/05/53s377223.htm

"Monk Seeks Unique Kung Fu Practice Successor

At Quanzhou Shaolin Temple, a renowned Chinese monk wants to pass on his unique Kung fu skills to a qualified successor through a nationwide selection, China News Agency reported recently.

The 33-year-old monk named Shi Liliang is famous for his unique Kung fu skill, "One Finger Zen", a kind of Shaolin Kung Fu that uses one finger to attack opponents or to support one's body upside down. Very few people nowadays can practice such advanced and difficult Kung Fu moves.

As Shi Lilijang gets older, he feels it will be beyond his physical means to practice the stunt for very long. Shi hopes to pass on this Shaolin Kong Fu and carry forward Shaolin culture.

According to Shi's requirement, the successor must be about 18 years old with good physical condition and strong will to overcome hardship in mastering the practice. Another requirement is abstaining from having any love relationships for 5 years.

Shi successfully developed this unique Kong Fu practice in 2004 after nine-year of efforts, drawing attention from world's marital arts and Buddhist circles."

[Andy]

Dear Sihing Hwan King,

That's a very interesting article!

His One Finger Zen seems to be rather 'external', judging from the callus' on his finger!

Impressive nonetheless


This article also reminds me of how advanced the techniques in our school are, and how fortunate we are to be able to practice them!

Best,

Andy

[Ray]

Hi family,
Such "coincidence" indeed I just stumbled upon the article when my parents told me about it in a Chinese newspaper. Although his one finger zen must be pretty formidable I am pretty sure there is an external emphasis on it. I have much respect for his hard work and dedication.

Best,

Ray

[Dougie]

Of course he has trained externally judging by the callous on his finger

That photogragh of him supporting his weight on 1 finger is an example of internal force though. If i get my fingertip replaced by the hardest known substance there is still no way i am going to be able to do this

(i hope it's not photo shopped )

All the best
Dougie

[Chiahua]

This reminds me of a video of the Venerable HaiDeng:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NExoT38sjj4

There's another clip where he punches a hole in a punching bag with great ease. I wonder if the Venerable Liliang's One Finger Zen enables him to heal as well.

[Luo Lang]

In any case I wish all my Brothers and sisters to have respect of what others do or train.

I myself was training 6 to 8 hours a day. It was my dedication. Of course I have had to clear many blockages till then and still I am clearing, but the spirit to get cleared was coming out of determination and dedication.

[affliction]

however wether eternal or external. respect for his achievment....

i wish i could train 6-8 hours every day i only get to do 1-2 hours about 5 times a week. if i was single, then i propably would train all day after work

[Luo Lang]

I was not training Shaolin Kung Fu 6-8 hours a day. Back then I was a professional athlete.

1-2 hours of training is more than sufficient.

[Jimbeaux]

1-2 hours of training is more than sufficient.

Ahhhhhh.... That's great. That makes me feel good. Thank you Si Sook Roland.
Now I'm gonna go get my 1-2 hours in for the day!

btw, as was mentioned, this seems impossible to achieve using only external methods, would it also be impossible using only internal methods??
As I remember:
Only external: 3rd class kung fu
Only internal: 2nd class kung fu
internal and external: 1st class kung fu
internal+external+path to spiritual enlightenment: world class kung fu

[Jimbeaux]

Btw, I have seen variations of the One Finger Shooting Zen set similar to ours in older Shaw Brothers movies (and many of thier actors were southern style martial artists, not only wushu). So I'm not that suprised to find out that it also exists in a different lineage, with a different emphasis.
Basta, now I need to go train.