Legacy of Ho Fatt Nam - 10 Questions to Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit

[Andrew]

Better late than never, Daniel. Welcome to the party

Question 1:

What are the different levels of skills that derive from One Finger Shooting Zen, Taming Tiger and Thirty Punches? How long does it take Shaolin Wahnam students to reach the skills (assumed they practice as they are supposed to)? How to test the skills? And how is each one of them useful in combat and daily life?

Sifu Anton Schmick


Answer: (Continued from Part 1)

The result of having strong fingers for tiger-claws from training Taming Tiger was quite obvious. It was not so much as skills in the case of One-Finger Shooting Zen and Thirty Punches; it was more of conditioning. Anyway, I did not spend a lot of time in Taming Tiger because soon my sifu taught me “Fierce Tiger Cleanses Claws”, which was internal and more powerful.

As I benefited much from my sifu’s teaching methodology, our students in Shaolin Wahnam also need only a few months to develop the desired skills. Moreover, our students have the advantage that the underlying philosophy is explained to them – a privilege I did not have in my own student’s days. It is like having a map. Obviously one can reach his destination faster when he has a map.

An excellent way to test whether one has a skill is to experience it. To test whether you have the skill to drive a car competently is to drive a car competently. To test whether you can let energy flow along your arm and consolidate it at your finger is to do it –- using One-Finger Shooting Zen or any suitable movements. To test whether you have strong fingers for a grip, or whether you can explode force from your dan tian in a punch, is to do it.

Our Shaolin Wahnam students can understand the explanation and perform the test, and they can know whether they succeed. But for many other people, not only they cannot perform the test, they may not understand what we are talking about here. The reason is that they do not differentiate between skills and techniques.

They may, for example, perform One-Finger Shooting Zen or Thirty Punches, but they may not be able to tell whether they have the skills to let energy flow, to consolidate energy, or to explode force from their dan tian. Many of them may not even have the philosophical knowledge in the first place. If they have read about such knowledge before, they may persuade themselves to believe they have the skills or ability – sometimes in glaring contrast to obvious facts. For examples, it is a fact that those who only practice kungfu forms for demonstration will be unable to use their kungfu forms for combat, but they may persuade themselves to believe that they can.

These skills are very useful in combat and in daily life. If you can generate an energy flow and consolidate it into internal force, you can handle any opponent irrespective of age, size and gender. You can also be forceful and fast, and will not be panting for breath or become tired easily. When you have strong fingers, your grip on your opponent will be firm and decisive. When you can explode force from your dan tian, you strikes can cause much damage to your opponent.

In daily life, your skills of generating an energy flow and consolidating it into internal force will give you good health, vitality and longevity. If you are in pain or sick, you can generate an energy flow to overcome the pain or sickness. You will be able to carry on physical as well as mental activities more competently, without painting for breadths and without becoming tired easily. Your grip on physical objects will be firm, and by extension your grip on mental concepts will be sure. Your skill to explode force from your dan tian will enable you to be assertive when necessary, yet be calm and relaxed at the same time.

It is worthwhile to bear in mind that we are able to have such benefits in daily life not because of the techniques we practice in our kungfu training, but because of the skills we have developed from our practice.

< End>

[Daniel]

Dear Andrew and Sifu,

Thank you for this opportunity (I think I´m late as you have already the 10 questions)....

[Andrew]

I just arrived in England where I am running some healing sessions this weekend. It'll be a great weekend. And what better way to start it than with Sifu's answer (part 1) to the first question:

Question 1:

What are the different levels of skills that derive from One Finger Shooting Zen, Taming Tiger and Thirty Punches? How long does it take Shaolin Wahnam students to reach the skills (assumed they practice as they are supposed to)? How to test the skills? And how is each one of them useful in combat and daily life?

Sifu Anton Schmick


Answer:

If I were asked to name the one exercise that led to my kungfu “enlightenment”, including in combat application, it would be “One-Finger Shooting Zen”.

By itself, “One-Finger Shooting Zen” is for force development, and not for combat application. But, of course, the internal force developed in “One-Finger Shooting Zen” is excellent for combat. Moreover, the two arts trained in “One-Finger Shooting Zen”, namely One-Finger Zen and Tiger Claw, are employed in the two of the highest combative arts, namely dim-mak and chin-na.

More importantly, the techniques required to apply One-Finger Zen and Tiger Claw for dim-mak and chin-na are actually very simple.; it is the skills that are crucial in implementing dim-mak and chin-na, the two highest levels of combat. This kungfu “enlightenment” opened up “enlightenment” in many areas of daily living. Whether a salesman earns 2,000 euros a month or 20,00 euros a month depends on his skills, not on his techniques, which are probably the same in both cases.

The skills acquired in the three different arts -- One-Finger Shooting Zen, Taming Tiger and Thirty Puches – are quite different.

In One-Finger Shooting Zen, the skills are letting energy to flow and consolidating energy into internal force. In Taming Tiger the skill is to strengthen the fingers, in a more physical way, to use as tiger-claws in chin-na. In Thirty Punches the skill is to explode force from the dan tian.

For most people, it will take a few years for them to acquire the respective skills – if they even do. Only a few of them will succeed. Even when they have the skills, they may not realize it. In Thirty Punches, for example, they only know that their punches are powerful with internal force. They may not know that they have the skill of channeling their internal force to flow form their dan tian to their fists. Many would not acquire the skills and therefore do not have the result of internal force when they punch.

I took a much shorter time to acquire the skill because I was a good student and my sifu was an excellent teacher. I took only a few months to acquire the skills. This was also due to my earlier kungfu training with Uncle Righteousness before I met Sifu Ho Fatt Nam.

But at the time I did not realize I had the skills. I only knew from direct experience that my One-Finger Zen, tiger-claws and punches were powerful with internal force. It was much later after I had taught for many years that I realized with hindsight that I had the skills to let energy flow, to consolidate energy, and to explode force from my dan tian.

(Part 2 follows)

.... anyone keen to read part 2 (he asks knowingly)?

[Andrew]

So many great questions. But we have more than 10 now! Sifu has agreed to answer 10, but maybe (if we are lucky and ask nicely) Sifu will agree to answer some of the additional questions too. Let's see

Now sit back and wait for some fantastic answers!

[manu]

Great bunch of questions

[Karol]

Dear Sigung, thank You so much for this course. It is a dream come true...

Dear Andrew Sipak, Thank You so much for organizing such amazing event. I am counting down the days to the course...

Dear Sifu, thank You for Your teaching. It gives me possibility to attend this wonderful course


Is Sitaigung one of the Immortals? How does He became one of them? Is it possible that we, in our school, receiving His blessing? Is it any way we can express our gratitude to Him?

With smile from the heart

[Angel Guillermo]

Enlightenment?

Dear Andrew Siheng,

Thanks so much for organizing such a wonderful event!

Dear Sifu,

Thanks so much for your immense generosity in sharing such marvelous treasures! Did Sigung Ho achieved enlightenment?

Smiling from the heart,
Angel

[Shamsher]

Dear Sifu,

You mentioned Sigung Ho replaced sleeping with sitting meditation in his later years. What was his goal? Was he aiming for enlightenment?

Was Sitting Meditation taught to all students in Sigung's school? Or was it reserved for special students?

Thank you in advance,

Sham.

[Anton S.]

Dear Sigung,

what did Sitaigug Ho look for in his practice of internal arts?

With kindest regards,
Anton

[Kevin_B]

Dear Sigung,

I have heard Sigung state previously that Sitaigung Ho was a "Master of Mind".

What were the relative contributions of Sitaigung Ho's (a) personal character, (b) Kung Fu practice and (c) innate capacity for spiritual development that Sitaigung Ho was born with, in achieving the extraordinary level of being a "Master of Mind"?

Are there factors other that the three I have listed that should be be considered when discussing the extraordinary level which Sitaigung Ho achieved? If there are, would SIgung be kind enough to elaborate on them?

Thank you Sigung for this marvellous opportunity to learn about our beloved Sitaigung.

Thank you Sisook Andrew for facilitating this thread.

All the best,

Kevin

[Markus Kahila]

Sifu,


Can you share with us what Sigung Ho Fatt Nam himself practiced and how he practiced, both as a young man with Sitaigung Yang Fatt Khun and later in his life?


Gratefully

[Leo Shaolin]

Thank you, Sifu, for offering such a wonderful course and to ask questions about Sigung Ho.

Thank you, Siheng, for organizing course and for managing this thread.

Here are my questions:

- Can Sifu please tell us more about how training in Sigung’s school was? How many students did Sigung teach and how many people trained together in a class?

- When me met Sisook, Sigungs’s eldest son, recently in Penang he told us that a minimum requirement for beginners was to sit in the horse riding stance for a whole hour. Can Sifu please tell us more about the training procedure and the progression of the students during this initial phase? How does the outcome of this approach compare to our comparatively short, but powerful stance training sessions in regards to immediate and long-term effects?

- We also learned about a technique that Sisook called “sleeping” which is lying between two chairs. Can Sifu tell us more about this technique?

Thank you very much!

Best wishes,

Leo

[Binia]

Dear Sipak

Thank you for these wonderful news and for this thread. Many questions came into my mind and I would like to ask the following one:

Sigung kindly once shared with us a teaching of Sitaigung which says that it is important to always have good thoughts; mind thinks, events materialize. This has helped me indeed already a lot and I am very grateful for it. Nowadays I can also feel very quickly and strongly if I am having a bad thought which helps me to correct it then accordingly. Also I start to experience and realize how my thoughts have not only an impact on myself but indeed also on the happenings and people around me. I would appreciate if Sigung could tell us a little bit about the depth and breadth of this teaching.

Thank you Sigung for another great Questions & Answers series and for the wonderful courses you will teach in Bern and Zurich.

Kind regards, Binia

[sancrica]

Wonderful!

Dear Shaolin Wahnam Family,

Another amazing opportunity for learning. :-) Thank you Sifu for always having endless patience and for your tremendous dedication spreading these wonderful arts all over the world. Thank you Andrew Siheng for starting this wonderful thread.

I have been thinking for some time what would my question be. The truth is that one question arose in my mind instantly at first but then I wasn't sure if it was a good question. As it came straight from the heart I have finally decided to ask it:

Dear Sifu, if you were to decide the 5 most meaningful lessons that you have received from Sigung Ho, which ones would they be?

With Love, Care and Shaolin Salute,

Santiago

[drunken boxer]

Thank you Andrew Siheng,

My question would be: I believe Sigung Ho was formerly a professional Muay Thai fighter (and I wonder if there are any records of how many fights he had and so forth, I wonder if this paid well enough to be his livelihood though this is not the question) and would have had Muay Thai fighters as his students when he started teaching kungfu. My question is did he learn Kungfu after he fought Muay Thai, or had he already started learning kungfu before that? If the latter, did he find the kungfu assisted him in Muay Thai, and if the former, how did the transition occur, did he meet a great kungfu Master and get a demonstration of his skills, or hear about this Master through reputation. And then finally the crux of the question, I wonder how long Sigung Ho had to practise Kungfu before he could reach and surpass his Muay Thai level with his Kungfu level, and how long it would have taken one of his students to do the same?

I am thinking, perhaps Sifu would have to speculate or guess part of the answer above, he may not have specifically ever asked Sigung Ho these questions, I would like to hear what Sifu would speculate, but if Sifu feels it better to answer other questions to which he has more concrete answers I would completely understand.

Also, and I have added this as an edit after re-reading everything, perhaps these questions do not apply so much to chi kung aspects taught in this course specifically, so again if there are more appropriate questions I would completely understand if Sifu answered those instead. To try to make my question into a more chi kung aspect related question, I would ask the same thing except I would ask in terms of chi flow and internal force, how long did Sigung Ho take before the internal force derived from his chi kung made him a more powerful fighter than he had been as a Muay Thai fighter?

I think this will be a very popular course, certainly one I am considering.