Bok (Bai) Lian (Leen) Ying Jow Pai
As you can see from above I included, I guess the more modern spelling for lotus. The reason that I’m writing this is to explain to you my reasoning for the name Bok Leen Pai and to give you an overall perspective of what we are teaching.
First, most people do not know the history of Eagle Claw. As legend has it, General Nok Fei developed these techniques to teach his troops hand-to-hand combat on the battlefield. The practice routine that emerged from this was Lin Kuen. I believe that it was probably a lot shorter than it is today. After all, Kung Fu is about change and growth.
Later some monks from a monastery, who knew a Northern style called Faan Tzi, added the clawing techniques to the Faan Tzi style and called it Ying Jow Fann Tzi Pai. They just took the two names and put them together.
However, there’s a third element that adds to the overall system or style… and that is the Jing Mo forms. As you know, this association was an umbrella for a bunch of different styles. What the masters decided to do was to create about 10 open-handed and 10 weapon sets that students would learn first before specializing in a specific system.
Some of the routines taught in the present-day Eagle Claw system are Power Fist, Yee Long Kuen, 4-6 Fist, 8 Diagram Saber, and Shepard Staff… to name a few. So, the question becomes, “Should the name be Ying Jow Jing Mo Faan Tzi Pai?” Now here’s the real kicker and I don’t know if you know this, but Ng Wai Nung and my teacher added other routines. Some examples are the fan, 3 open-hand routines, a 2-man form, and even the double dagger. The steel whip and the short staff were added by Ng Wai Nung. There are also forms that my teacher has eliminated from the system. For example, the Bung Bo Mantis form and the Plum Blossom saber. You get the idea.
About Change and Growth
One day I’m at the school training. As with most days, I’m there alone with Grandmaster Shum. He calls me into his office and has me sit down. He pulls out an old training chart of Eagle Claw. It must have been 30 years old.
He opens it up and runs his finger down the list of the forms. After a few minutes, he looks up at me and says, “We are both the same. You know what I know, and I know what you know.” I just sat there and didn’t really say anything. After all, it sounded like the end of my training. What was left? He then said, “Now you can change things as you like. If you don’t like a move, change it. This up to you now.” He continued, “Eagle Claw and Tai Chi are the same things. If you know Eagle Claw, you know Tai Chi. Same thing.”
I thought about those words because they had a dramatic effect on me. It was like leaving the Shaolin monastery… except I didn’t have to fight my way out or burn a dragon and tiger on my arms. Questions that go through your mind, “Now what?” “Do I just work out?” “How am I going to get better?”
So, you feel lost. But remember, Kung Fu is about change and growth. I soon discovered that I was once again a white belt and starting over. The circle has been completed and is now continuing again from the beginning. So, over the last few years, I’ve been making subtle changes here and there. You probably have noticed.
Over the last few years, I’ve also noticed my training brothers one-by-one have to stop training. Few even teach. The few that teach, I do not think understand the full complexities of the system. Worse yet, many now claim to be masters and yet have never taken the master’s test. This is not about their skills, but about stepping up to the plate to challenge themselves and become a man. However, I guess, it’s easier to claim something without being tested… no matter what it is that you do. This seems to be the way of the world today.
On top of that, all my teachers have passed on, and Grandmaster Shum has retired. He still teaches a little just to help, but nothing serious. So where does that leave you? Unfortunately, you’re stuck with me.
So, I’m left in a quandary. I have all this information plus unique perspectives that I got from my teachers. From Master Decker, I got the art of self-defense and point alignment. From Grandmaster Pai, I got discovered the fluid motion of both the mind and body. And from Grandmaster Shum, I learned how to combine the Yin/Yang in techniques and above all else patience.
How do I impart this with what we teach? That was the question I raised to myself. Here are the concepts:
- Basic technical knowledge
- Advanced technical knowledge
- Self-defense
- Fluid motion
- Circles
- Point alignment
Don’t forget that one of the basic concepts of White Dragon and Eagle Claw is that they combine the circles and concepts of Tai Chi. So, all these factors must be taught and developed.
With these things in mind, I decided to call the method, “White Lotus Eagle Claw.” I combined the actions of Pai Lum (which can really be called Pai’s Family Dragon Style) with Eagle Claw and the concepts of Tai Chi.
White represents purity. In Chinese, white represents the element of metal. One of the five elements. Metal is strong and hard. Metal also represents being tenacious, self-reliant, respectful, confident, and determined.
The Lotus is known as the gentleman’s flower because it grows out from the mud, pure and unstained. So, as we go through hard training, we are pure to our ideals and egoless. We understand the Past, Present, and Future. It also represents fluidity like Tai Chi.
So now we have the two sides of the Ying/Yang. The strength and the pure and fluid. I hope this gives you a better understanding of what it is we are teaching and the concepts of what we do.