Miscellaneous Kung Fu InformationIron Wire Fist(Tit Sin Kuen) Author: Wu Lup Fung (disciple of Lam Sai Wing)

At the end of the Ching dynasty, there were two Buddhist temples famous for martial arts in Canton, Guong Hao temple and Hoi Tong temple. Many monks in these temples were very skillful in GongFu. At that time, TitKue Sam has not yet become a monk, but he was living in one of the temples. He was fortunate to have learned Gong Fu from the monk Zui Chi. Later Tit Kue Sam became very famous in the Gong Fu circle. Every one knew he had real Shaolin Gong Fu. He was most famous for the Iron Wire Fist form. He regarded it as his best secret and taught only very few people in his life.

Lum Fuk Sing learned the Iron Wire Fist from Tit Kue Sam. He was also skillful in using the rope dart. Lum Fuk Sing was a recluse. He kept his skills to himself and was not interested in fame. Sometimes he demonstrated his GongFu on the streets to make a living. One day when he was demonstrating the rope dartin front of a store, a guy dashed out of a narrow street and got hit by the rope dart accidentally. The local people got angry at Lum Fuk Sing and started a quarrel. Wong Kay Ying and his son Wong Fay Hong happened to pass by. They helped Lum Fuk Sing resolve the problem. Fuk Sing was very grateful and taught the secrets of Iron Wire Fist to them.Although my sifu Lum Sai Wing was the disciple of Wong Fay Hong, he didn't learn the Iron Wire Fist until fifteen years after he became a disciple. Sifu thought the old masters were too secretive and wanted to spread his Gong Fu to benefit society. He taught everything openly . Many people learned Gong Fu from Lum Sai Wing, but not many learned the Iron Wire Fist. I am afraid such a treasure gets lost. That's why I am writing this article to explain all the principles and secrets. Hopefully it will help spread Gong Fu and make people healthier.The Iron Wire Fist improves blood circulation and muscular strength. It exercises all the internal organs, muscles, nerves, and removes toxins generated by the body. At the same time, the Iron Wire Fist emphasizes breathing techniques. It strengthens the lung, which leads to strengthening all the internal organs.

All physical movements are controlled by the brain. Practicing the Iron Wire Fist enhances the ability of the brain to control all internal organs, thus strengthening the nervous system. All beginners of the Iron Wire Fistmust have determination for success. At the beginning stage, don't pay too much attention to the correctness of movements. Practice as much as you can. When you reach a certain level, you can feel whether your movements are correct or not, because all the breathing and movements are natural.

1. Because the movements are natural, the muscles and the nerves get proper exercise. The body becomes naturally strong as a result.

2. The different sounds emitted during the form exercises the internal organs. It is difficult to exercise internal organs just doing physical movements. Only sound can produce vibrations to stimulate internal organs and develop internal strength.

3. Proper breathing can help Chi circulation connecting the meridians. It also helps improve blood circulation.

4. Coordinating movement, sound and breathing corresponds with coordinating internal organs, muscles, andblood circulation. This makes the body very healthy and can prevent diseases.

5. Deep breathing in fresh air before practicing the form makes practice more effective.

6. Correspondence between the different sounds, five elements and the internal organs:

a. heart: fire, the sound is "yik", the associated property is fierceb. liver: wood, the sound is "tik", the associated property is hardc. pancreas: earth, the sound is "mng"(use the nose), the associated property is heavyd. lung: gold, the sound is "tee", the associated property is lighte. kidney: water, the sound is "haa", the associated property is secretivef. small intestine, the sound is "kit", connected to the heart, the associated emotion is happyg. gall bladder, the sound is "zaa", connected to the liver, the associated emotion is angryh. stomach, the sound is "horr", connected to the pancreas, the associated emotion is worryi. large intestine, the sound is "hut", connected to the lung, the associated emotion is sadj. bladder, the sound is "yah", connected to the kidney, the associated emotion is scared

7. The key to all movements lies in conflict. If you want to move first be quiet. If you want torelease first retract. If you want to press down first lift up. If you want to go to the left first go to the right. When you move, everything inside and outside, your body, mind intent, spirit, Chi, blood, all move together. There should not be any stalemate.

The Iron Wire Fist adopts the Yee Jee Kim Yong Stance. This posture aligns the vertebrate in to the correct position. It can adjust the misaligned joints on the vertebrate. This is vital in improving health.

The 12 principles(12 bridges) and explainations:1. Gong(hard): Gong belongs to Yang. Gong has form(as opposed to Yao, which is formless). Itbuilds a strong body to resist all outside attacks. The bones are Gong. Too much Gong is not goodbecause Yin and Yang has to be balanced, so there should always be some Yao in Gong.

2. Yao(soft): Yao belongs to Yin. Yao is formless. Yao should be used in actual combat. The muscles and skin are Yao. Yao should also be balanced by Gong.

3. Bik(close): When closing in the opponent, use Bik to find opening for attack. If the opponent isstrong then avoid his attack and follow in, if the opponent is weak then find an opening and go in.

4. Jik(straight): Jik means straight, extend. It's used to train the power in fingers, wrists, heels, toes and ankles. Power comes from the waist and connects with the limbs.

5. Fun(separate): Fun is used to ward off an attack. Fun is used to divide the opponent's forces or his attention.

6. Ding(immobile): Ding means taciturn. Your concentration is absolute and you wait for theopponent in calmness. Ding is used to wait for the opponent's attack, and then respond accordingly.

7. Chuen(inch): Your posture, hand and leg position should always be correct to the smallest measurement. Chuen also includes short power issued by the fingers.

8. Tei(lift): Tei is used for defence. Be watchful for surprise attacks. All bridge hands moving from low to highbelongs to Tei. The power comes from the stances for all such moves.

9. Lau(stay): the opposite of Lau is Fong(release) When you attack, don't release all the way, butdon't retain too much either. There should be a balance between Lau and Fong. Lau also refers tothe transition from one move to the next. There is a small interval when you are static, but not stagnant.

10. Wun(move): Wun means movements. The spirit, mind intent, Chi, strength, hand, eye, waist, leg all should be coordinated when they move.

11. Jai(stop): Stifle the opponent's attack. Jai refers to all blocks and parries.

12. Ding(test) Test the opponent and judge his strength and weakness before you set up a strategy to defeathim. Ding is used to set up a battle plan according to the situation and your judgment

12 bridges of Hung garHoong Ka Kungfu is famous for its "bridges", or powerful forearms. The master best known for his powerful bridges was Thit Kiew Sam. It was recorded that he could let six able-bodied adults hang on each arm, yet walked for over a hundred steps.How did Thit Kiew Sam train to have such powerful arms? It was not through lifting weights and other mechanical means, but through practicing "Thit Seen Khuen", or the "Iron Wire Set". Thit Kiew Sam taught this set to Lam Fook Seng, who in turn taught it to Wong Fei Hoong, who then taught it to Lam Sai Weng, thepatriarch of your lineage.

(Editorial Note: Sifu Pavel Macek, who is directly descended from the lineage of Grandmaster Lam Sai Weng, has generously provided a picture series of the Iron Wire Set performed by the Grandmaster, and is accessable at http://www.lghk.org/en/ .)

Through his generosity, Lam Sai Weng recorded this invaluable set for posterity in his classic, "Thit Seen Khuen" ("Iron Wire Set"), penned by his disciple Chu Yu Chai. As it was the custom amongst kungfu masters

in the past, although a lot of information was recorded, this classic was concise, which means that only thosewith background knowledge could understand the information.

"Thit Seen Khuen" is an advanced kungfu set to train internal force, not just for combat efficiency but also forhealth, vitality and longevity. It also makes the body tough (but not massive or muscular), and the mind sharp and clear.

I practiced this set daily for some time in my young days, and can testify from my own experience that the internal force generated was tremendous. I would like to warn that it must be practiced correctly, preferably under the supervision of a master. Wrong practice can cause much harm, and it is easy to practice it wrongly.

One very common mistake is to practice "Thit Seen Khuen" as an isometric exercise instead of as chi kung orenergy exercise. When one practices it as an isometric exercise, he tenses his muscles, whereas as chi kung,he is relaxed. I was lucky because before "Thit Seen Khuen" I had practiced chi kung exercises like the Eighteen Lohan Hands, and therefore I knew exactly what practicing it as chi kung was like. Moreover, I had the great advantage of knowing Self-Manifested Chi Movement, which could clear away harmful side-effects even if I had practiced wrongly.

For those who may be interested, I have specailly prepared a short video clip showing how I perform a typical part of "Thit Seen Khuen". The video clip can be accessed here . The way I perform it, however, is slightly different from that shown in Grandmaster Lam Sai Weng's book.

The internal force derived from "Thit Seen Khuen" may be classified into twelve types, known as "twelve bridges". These twelve types of force are summed up in a poetic expression as follows:

Kong yow pik cheit fun ting chuin Tai lau wan chai ding thien khuen

Word by word it may be translated as follows:

Hard soft press straight separate stable inch Lift keep circulate control match the cosmos

To understand these "twelve bridges", it is helpful to know two points. One, the difference is in their application, not in their nature. It is actually the same force, but used differently. Two, the classification into these "twelve bridges" is not exclusive or rigid. For example, if a particular pattern is used to train or apply hard force, it does not necessarily mean that the same pattern cannot be used to train or apply soft force. Or, if a force is hard, it does not mean that it cannot be soft too.

Grandmaster Lam Sai WengThis pattern "Clap Wood Fists" from the Iron Wire Set is useful for develloping "hard" force

An analogy may make this clear. The electricity that we use in our house is the same electricity but it can be classified into different types according to its uses, like electricity for lighting, for heating, for cooking, for powering our computers, etc. There are different ways to generate this electricity, like via coal, petrol, water or atom, just as there are different patterns to generate force in "Iron Wire Set".

One particular way to generate electricity for lighting, for example, can also generate electricity for heating. It does not follow that if we use coal to generate electricity for lighting, we cannot use coal to generate electricity for heating. In the same way, if we use a particular pattern in the "Iron Wire Set" to generate "pressing" force, we can also use the same pattern to generate "straight" force.

Or, the electricity that we use to cook a meal, can also be channeled to work a computer. Similarly, the force that we use to execute a "fun bridge" or "separate bridge", can also be channeled to execute a "ting bridge" or "stabilizing bridge".

In the poetic expression above, "hard" and "soft" are two broad categories applicable to all the other types offorce. In other words, the other types of force, like "press", "straight", "separate", etc can be "hard" or "soft". In the electricity analogy, all the various categories of electricity uses, like lighting, heating, cooking, etc, may operate as direct current or alternate current.

"Kong" or "hard" refers to hard force. But it is not mechanical or external. It is internal but relatively hard. Most of the force developed in "Tit Seen Khuen" as well in Hoong Ka Kungfu in general is hard. The pattern "Guarding the Dan Tian", Pattern 10 in the set, generates hard force. Another example of hard force is "Control Bridges" in Pattern 19, where the hard force is used for controlling.

"You" or "soft" refers to soft force. One must remember that in kungfu, soft force can be very powerful. In fact, soft force is generally more advanced than hard force. Patterns like "Soft Bridge Inner Shoulders" (Pattern 26) and "Soft Bridge" (Pattern 29) are meant to develop soft force.

If you use your right hand to "retain" an opponent while you drive your left fist into his right temple, as in the pattern "Clamp Wooden Fist" (Pattern 47), you employ hard force in your attack. If you dodge your opponent attack and simultaneously thrust your finger thrust into his throat at close range, as in "Sideway Inch Bridge" (Pattern 33), you employ soft force.

One should note that it is not the forms of the patterns, but how the patterns are performed that determines whether soft force, hard force or any other types of force is generated. The same two forms, for example, may be used to generate hard force, in which case they would probably be called "Hard Bridge Inner Shoulders" and "Hard Bridge".

"Pik" or "press" refers to pressing force. In the example given earlier where you "tame" your opponent's hands with a tiger-claw, and strike him with a thrust punch, you use pressing force in both your tiger-claw and your punch. And your pressing force in the tiger-claw and the punch can be both hard or both soft, or either one hard and the other soft.

Any pattern in the set can be used to generate pressing force, but the patterns "Guarding the Dan Tian" and "Lift Hands Protect Chest" (Patterns 10 and 11) are particularly useful. One may note that earlier I mentioned "Guarding Dan Tian" as an effective pattern for developing hard force, so he may wonder why now I mention it to be effective for developing pressing force. This is an example of dualistic or rigid thinking,mistakenly thinking that one particular pattern is used to develop only one particular force. Such rigid thinking seriously hinders an understanding of "Thit Seen Khuen".

"Cheit" or "straight" refers to straight force, which is used in attack. The force shoots from you straight to your opponent. "Sideway Inch Bridge" (Pattern 33) is an effective pattern for training and applying straight force. "Black Tiger Steals Heart" is another example. Striking your opponent's temple, as in "Clamp Wooden Fist" above, is not using straight force, it is lifting force..

Grandmaster Lam Sai WengThe force developed from this pattern "Separate Golden Fists" can be "hard" or "soft", and can be used in various ways.

"Fun" or "separate" refers to separating force. An excellent pattern to develop separating force is "SeparatingGolden Fists" (Pattern 20). This force is very effective in releasing yourself from an opponent's grip. Suppose your opponent grips your right forearm as your executes a "Black Tiger Steals Heart". You can release the grip with a small circular movement of your wrist using "fun" or separating force, then move in to strike his left temple with your right "horn-punch" using "tai" or lifting force, while you "tame" his hands with your left hand using "ting" or stabilizing force with the pattern "Clamp Wooden Fist".

"Ting" or "stable" refers to stabilizing force. It is used to keep an opponent under control, like placing your hand over his arm to sense his movements and intentions. When an opponent strikes you, you lean your "Single Tiger" on his attacking arm with "ting" or stabilizing force. It can also be used to "tame" an opponent,like the example earlier where you strike an opponent's temple. The force is soft. A useful pattern to develop stabilizing force is "Stabilizing Golden Bridge" (Pattern 16).

"Chun" or "inch" refers to inch force, or force that can injure an opponent within a very short range. If, after stabilizing an opponent, he tries to move away, you may follow up with a strike within close range using inch force. "Double Inch Bridges" (Pattern 18) is a good example.

"Tai" or "lift" refers to lifting force. It is used when you raise your body or any part of it, like in releasing an opponent's grip. In an example where you lift your fist to strike an opponent's temple, you also employ "tai" or lifting force. "Sheltering Sky" (Pattern 60) is an effective pattern to train this force.

"Lau" or "keep" refers to retaining force. It is used to prevent an opponent from escaping or moving away, especially after he has moved in to attack. If you search the whole "Iron Wire Set" you may not find a single pattern that specially trains or uses this type of force. Yet, any one pattern in the set can train or use this force. Why is it so? It is because the force trained in the set is general, but can be used for any specific function, including retaining.

In the earlier example of "Clamp Wooden Fist" (Pattern 47), you employ "ting" or stabilizing force to "tame" or control your opponent so that he could not counter attack you. But if he tries to move away, you can still use the same pattern "Clamp Wooden Fist" and strike his temple with a "horn-punch" while locking both his arm with your bent arm using "lau" or retaining force.

"Wan" or "circulate" refers to circulating force, which of course is flowing. But it is not merely flowing, it connotes that the practitioner can direct this flowing force to wherever he wants. The pattern "Inner Shoulders Soft Force" (Patterns 51) trains this circulating force. But you will probably have a clear idea of circulating force from the patterns "One-Finger Stabilizes Middle Plain", "Left Circulating of Soft Force" and "Right Circulating of Soft Force" (Patterns 7, 20 and 21) in the Tiger-Crane Set.

The usage of "wan" or circulating force is holistic. Unless you use muscular strength, any attack or defence you use involves circulating force -- usually unconsciously when you have become proficient, but sometimes consciously. When you grip an opponent's vital points with a tiger-claw, for example, you direct your internal force using "wan" to grip him.

Grandmaster Lam Sai WengThe force developed from this pattern "Chai Kiu" is useful for controling an opponent

"Chai" or "control" refers to controlling force, which is used to control or subdue an opponent. It is similar, but not identical, to "ting" or stabilizing force. Controlling force is hard, whereas stabilizing force is soft. The pattern "Control Bridge" (Pattern 43) is meant to develop this controlling force. If your opponent uses his lefthand to grip your right wrist, for example, you can reverse the situation with a small anti-clockwise circular movement of your right hand and grip him instead using "chai" or controlling force.

"Ding" or "match" refers to matching force. It is used to match or meet an opponent's force. In the set the pattern "Match Bridge" (Pattern 28) is meant to train this matching force. Matching force can be used in numerous ways. When your opponent strikes, you "lean" your tiger-claw against his attacking arm using matching force against his attack. Here you use minimal force to match his. Or you may use "Lift Pot to OfferWine" (Pattern 48) to deflect his attack, then follow up with a strike to his face. Here you use more matchingforce to meet his attacking force.

The last two words in the poetic expression, "thien" and "khuen", means the Cosmos. It is a poetic and symbolic way to conclude the poetic expression, suggesting that if you know and can skillfully apply the "twelve bridges" you can effectively handle any combat situations.