SHAOLIN KUNG FU: big Luohan tactics (da luohan quan)

instructor: monk De Ci
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combat strategy:

this style teaches "camouflage" tactics. delivering your attack to the opponent is not always a matter of brute force and speed. there are tactics to do it without the opponent knowing you are doing it. this is the safest, most successful approach:

tactic 25 - 'environment camouflage':
"borrow the knife to kill (借刀杀人)" – use elements of the environment as weapon. a handful of soil can blind the opponent, a stone, a key, anything that can harm.

tactic 26 - 'torso camouflage':
"hide the knife behind a smile (笑里藏刀)" – hide your moves behind inoffensive postures like sitting, walking, running, turns and twists of your body.

tactic 27 - 'limb camouflage':
"beauty tactic (美人计)" – mask your attacking limb with another limb. the opponent cannot recognize and react properly to a masked attack.

tactic 28 - 'covering camouflage':
"golden cicada molts shell (金蝉脱壳)" – when the opponent defends a masked attack, he just defends the covering limb, which clears the way for the main attacking limb to continue.

these involve turns, twists, and cover-ups of the torso and limbs to cover the main moves in tandem to the last moment. in this style, every move is delivered behind the twists of the body. the upper and lower body twist, the limbs twist around each other in tandem, to teach you conceal and protect your true moves from the opponent till the last moment, so he does not recognize your moves, or even if he recognizes and reacts in time, the main attacking limb can continue the move from behind the cover layer. this is how to layer your moves to increase their chance of impact.
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history:

'luohan quan' is the purest and most representative style of Shaolin kung fu. it was developed by Shaolin monks as the earliest style based on the luohan 18 hands in the earlier eras of Shaolin temple.

early Song dynasty (960s AD):
at the beginning of the Song dynasty this style was first officially sorted out and recorded into the 'Shaolin Kung Fu Manual' under the supervision of chief monk Fu Ju (福居).
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note: there are various other forms and styles named 'luohan quan' in Chinese kung fu, and they are different from Shaolin luohan quan. these are just different styles with similar names.
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Shaolin Kung Fu tutorial:
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