It stresses rhythm, the demonstration of power accentuated by solid thuds made by the hands, the emitting of power from the entire body, the coordination of the hands and feet as well as blocks and strikes, high kicks and low sweeps, as well as locking and throwing techniques. Tien Shan Pai self-defense is characterized by angular attacks coupled with multiple blocks. If one block fails, the second can cover. Footwork is considered essential to countering attacks. Tien Shan Pai focuses on low and steady steps to the side, along with swift "hidden" steps to trick the opponent. Paired boxing forms and exercises are emphasized for timing and accurate evaluation of distance in reference to a moving, responsive adversary.

History

The following is a brief recent history of the Tien Shan Pai style:

63rd generation Tien Shan Pai Grandmaster Wang Chueh-Jen came from a rich family. His father, Wang Ting Yuen, was a well known Kung fu Master in Szechuan province. Grandmaster Wang first studied from his father before his father hired a different master to teach him and his brothers at home. Wang eventually inherited the Tien Shan Pai style from 62nd generation Grandmaster Ho Ta-Sun (also known as Ho Yuen-Ching).

Tien Shan Pai has long been popular in Xinjiang, Gansu and other western provinces; however, it was not well known in eastern China and Taiwan until Wang Chueh-Jen taught there. Through many years of study and teaching, Grandmaster Wang refined a style of combat he called "radar style fighting". Many of his early students competed in leitai (full contact fighting) tournaments, all giving outstanding performances, with some winning championships. At that time (1955), there were no weight divisions (until 1957, when three weight divisions were established) and no protection. The last such tournament without protection was held in Taiwan, Republic of China in 1986.

Grandmaster Willy Lin was born in 1938 in Tai-Chung, Taiwan. Lin became a student of Wang Chueh-Jen in Tien Shan Pai in 1957 in his hometown of Taichung, Taiwan. For eight years, from 1960 until he emigrated to the United States by way of Brazil, Willy Lin was the head instructor and primary assistant to Wang Chueh-Jen.

In 1968 Willy Lin emigrated from Taiwan to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he taught martial arts to the Sao Paulo Chinese Association and to the Sao Paulo Police Department. In 1970 he came to the United States, where he opened his first school in 1971 in the Washington DC area.

Willy Lin was the first person to introduce and to teach Wang Chueh-Jen's system of Tien Shan Pai in the United States. Willy Lin currently resides in New York. He still teaches, and does seminars on Tien Shan Pai, and on the forms which comprise it. He brought Grandmaster Huang Chien-Liang to the United States in 1973 to become one of Lin's instructors at the Lin Kung Fu School in Bethesda, MD. He also brought Grandmaster Tony Lin, and Grandmaster C.C. Liu to the United States in the early 1970s to become instructors at the Lin Kung Fu Schools.

Huang claims that Wang Chueh-Jen informed him Grandmaster Huang Chien-Liang that he was his only "formal disciple" during a visit to the U.S. in 1985 at which time Huang assumed the title of 64th Generation Grandmaster of Tien Shan Pai. Huang Chien-Liang is currently the President of The World Kuoshu Federation (TWKSF), Vice President of the International Chinese Kuoshu Federation (ICKF), and President of the United States Chinese Kuoshu Federation (USCKF).

Huang's claim, however, is not without controversy, as Willy Lin is widely recognized by Tien Shan Pai practitioners as Grandmaster Wang Chueh-Jen's senior student. On August 13, 2006 at a ceremony in Washington, DC, Grandmaster Willy Lin declared publicly that Master Dennis Brown and Master Gene Gause are Grandmaster Lin's only two formal disciples.

Wang Chueh-Jen continued to teach Tien Shan Pai until his death in 1990. Willy Lin, Huang Chien-Liang, C.C. Liu, and Tony Lin are a few of Wang's original students who are still active practitioners and teachers of Tien Shan Pai in the United States today.

According to T'ai Chi Sabre: The T'ien Shan P'ai Tradition, Grandmaster Liu Chao-chi, who was born in Chang Hau, Taiwan in 1936, met Wang Chueh-jen when he was 17 years old. He became an assistant instructor in Grandmaster Wang's school at age 20. He trained with Grandmaster Wang for more than 20 years. Liu came to the United States in 1978 and opened a school in Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown. His curriculum included T'ien Shan P'ai Kung Fu, Iron Palm and Iron body Ch'i kung, Yang family Tai Chi, nei kung, hsing-i ch'uan, pa Kua chang, and Taoist sitting and standing meditation. This information comes from T'ai Chi Sabre: The T'ien Shan P'ai Tradition, by Grandmaster Liu Chao-Chi.

Founding Legend

Tien Shan Pai Kung fu originated in Xinjiang Province in Northwestern China. Legend has it that it was practiced by monks who lived in a temple nestled among the snow-capped peaks of the Tien Shan mountains.

As the story goes, a young herdsman who was searching for lost animals wandered too far from home. The grasslands he knew so well suddenly looked unfamiliar and he realized he was lost. Noticing an old monk with long white beard approaching nearby, the boy stopped him and asked for directions. When he returned to his village, the boy told his mother about the old monk. She replied he had met Tien Shan Lao Ren, a monk who was noted for his martial arts skills. The mother encouraged her son to find the monk and learn his Kung fu secret.

The young boy set out to find the old monk. His quest carried him deep into the mountains. He searched for mile after mile, but could not find the old monk. At the point of physical exhaustion, the young boy stopped at nearby stream to quench his thirst. While kneeling by the stream, he saw the reflection of a beautiful temple nestled in a snow-capped mountain. Sensing he was close, the young boy hastened onwards.

After a long trek into the mountains, the boy finally arrived at the temple. However, his hopes were dashed when the monk refused to accept him as a disciple. They were not permitted to teach outsiders, the monk explained. But instead of going home as they suggested, the boy knelt in the snow outside the temple doors, refusing to leave until the old monk would agree to teach him. On the second morning, he was discovered lying unconscious from the cold and was taken into the temple.

Seeing his determination, the old monk reconsidered. Tien Shan Lao Ren decided to teach the boy, whom he nicknamed Hong Yun (Red Cloud) because of the mist that rose from his bleeding knees when he was discovered outside of the temple. He stayed in the temple until he grew to manhood, and when he left, he eagerly passed on his skill to other dedicated students. Hong Yun Zu Shi, as the first to teach the monks martial artistry to the outside world, is regarded as the founder of Tien Shan Pai.

Modern Practitioners

Tien Shan Pai is an active style of Kung fu practiced by many in the United States and around the world. Grandmaster Huang Chien-Liang resides and still teaches at the primary school in Maryland. Most practitioners learn aspects of northern Shaolin Kung fu and Yang style Tai Chi Chuan as well as traditional Tien Shan Pai.