The internal Chinese martial art, Lu Ha Ba Fa or Water Boxing, is known by a variety of names. I had not heard of it until recently when one of my readers wrote to me about my Lao Gong blog and mentioned that he did “Lu Ha Ba Fa” as well as other practices. I was intrigued and decided to do a little research. Thank you Jon L!
Translations, Spellings, & Names:
There are a few different but similar translations: “Hua mountain heart/mind and intent six harmonies eight methods boxing” or “six harmonies and eight principles”. Evidently (I imagine because of the lengthy name), Lu Ha Ba Fa is often abbreviated as LHBF. That makes sense. It is often referred to as Lop Hap Baat Faat in Cantonese.
As one would also expect by now, there are many variations on spelling: Liuhebafaquan, etc. The easiest names to remember and pronounce are: Six Harmonies Eight Methods Boxing, or Water Style Boxing, or Water Boxing Chinese Martial Art! For purposes (and simplicity) of this blog, I will use the term “Water Boxing”.
According to Chapter 78 of the Tao Te Ching:
“Nothing in the world is softer and more supple than water,
Yet when attacking the hard and the strong,
Nothing can surpass it.”
This style is often referred to as Water Boxing, as its movements remind one of running water. Some say they look like “floating clouds.” Water may be more fitting because like the nature of water, movements can be soft and slow one moment and quick and powerful the next. Like water, the movements are very fluid, without “form”, and are highly adaptable.
As is common in many (if not most) internal Chinese martial arts systems: Water Boxing is used for self-defense, and for improving health, focus, coordination, and balance. As well, it strengthens the body, and increases stamina and longevity. It is believed that one of the goals of the style was to exercise the spine as you stimulate and massage the internal organs.
History:
According to one legend, credit for the origin and development goes to a Song Dynasty Taoist sage named Chen Tuan (aka Chen Xiyi, Chen Po) from the Huashan Taoist Monastery in Shaanxi Province during the 9th century. Another story states that Chen Tuan (aka Chen Hei I) was a noted mathematician and Sage from the Shanshi Province. As one story goes, Chen won ownership of the Hua Shan Mountains from Emperor, Zhao Kuangyin in a chess game. This mountain is where Chen did most of his teaching and where he created Qigong, Neigong, and Tai Chi Ruler exercises, as well as Water Boxing. He ended his days living and resting in a cave more or less meditating on the “nature of all things until 989 A.D. when he passed away in there.
As the story goes, at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 A.D.) one of Chen’s faithful disciples, Li Dongfeng (Li Dong Feng) went to Chen’s cave. He found Chen’s writings, including a detailed description of Liu He Ba Fa. Feng then taught Water Boxing to a small group of Taoists on the mountain. As were many other martial arts at the time, Water Boxing was only passed down from one generation to the next within closely guarded circles. It was only taught to “ a handful of gifted and chosen students with exemplary courage and moral character.”
Even though Water Boxing was only taught to a select few, several disciples added their own “kung fu” styles (Shaolin, Mantis, Tai Chi, Xingyi, Baugua) to the original. It’s easy to see why Water Boxing has been called “the quintessential hybrid of Tai Chi, Xingyi, and Bagua.” It was Grandmaster Wu I Hui (1887-1961 A.D.) who more openly started to teach Water Boxing in Shanghai. From there, even though it did spread West, very few schools actually taught and do teach it.
As with other internal styles, its training and methods involve cultivation of the body’s internal energy or Qi. While not a well-known system, it is considered a beautiful, unique, and effective fighting style and “one of the most sophisticated forms of internal kung fu”.
Even though Water Boxing has many similarities with Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, Tai Chi, it incorporate over 700 different techniques, and as you would expect, is very detailed. Many describe it as having:
the power of Xingyi is at its center,
it utilizes the stepping patterns of Bagua for turning and spinning,
and, it utilizes the neutralizing power of Tai Chi for its variations.
Some of Water Boxing’s movements are high, low, fast, or slow - the operative word being: “sometimes”. Motions are forward, backward, up, down, and lateral. The best way to describe it might be to say that the movements, although clearly defined, constantly fluctuate. It is the mind (aka Xingyi) that initiates the movements and the body follows. Here, we have yet another name for the form: Xinyi Liu He Ba Fa.
Interestingly, in Water Boxing:
Including opening and closing, there are 68 movements,
each major movement is unique,
movement names repeat, however, there are no repetitions anywhere in the form, and
each movement can consist of many sub-movements.
There are two Water Boxing styles (routines): Liu He Ba Fa Fist and San Pan Shi Er Shi. Liu He Ba Fa Fist includes Qigong and martial applications. San Pan Shi Er Shi is a reaction training routine for combat.
As you can probably tell by now, this “style”, if I can call it that, is complicated and very hard to describe. It is probably best appreciated by watching a few YouTube videos. This list is far from exhaustive, as this is a blog, not a research paper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHDYutnNBB8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnT3YUWBvOs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJjHvS7O4-Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQKgXX3a35c
Of course, there are also many DVDs that can be purchased on line. Or if you are lucky enough to have a school that teaches Water Boxing in your area, it would be a great experience to check out.
Because I found the idea quite intriguing, in a future blog, I will be covering the Six Harmonies.
My bottom line: keep learning and keep moving on a regular basis!
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