Lineage
History of Five Ancestor Fist
Five Ancestor Fist refers to five ancestors including Taizu, Luohan, Dazun, Xingzhe, and White Crane. These five styles of boxing are united into one called Five Ancestor Fist. The Quanzhou citizens who learn Five Ancestor Fist, are learning it as the main boxing style in Quanzhou. It is a complete martial art with boxing and martial technique integrated into one style. It is an internal and external Southern Shaolin system. It includes Taizu Boxing, Dazun Boxing, Luohan Boxing, Xingzhe Boxing, and White Crane Boxing. All styles have a “three fights” at the beginning of the boxing. However, they also have some differences. Taizu Boxing was created by Zhao Kuangyin, Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty. It focuses on close fighting and getting close, step-by-step. Dazun Boxing refers to Bodhiharma, combining meditation with boxing and applies softness to the hardness. Luohan is the motion with motionless moves, forceful and aggressive. Xingzhe Boxing refers to the Monkey Boxing, featuring flexibility in footwork and jumping. White Crane penetrates with the Crane Dance. The five styles are united into one featuring the aggressive and fierce power and the masculine beauty. All learners of Wuzuquan have areas of masterly skills.
For thousands of years, the Southern Shaolin Martial Arts has been spread in the populace and the tradition of learning martial arts has been gradually established. In the period of the North Song Dynasty, there was a verse saying, “The country is founded in Quingyuan Mountain and Shaolin martial arts are spread all over South Quanzhou.” The degree that the Shaolin Martial Arts were passed on and learned in Quanzhou can be seen from that. Even up to now, most of the aged people in Quanzhou must have heard these words: “Fist, wine, and opera.” This line describes the ordinary entertainments of Quanzhou people, which were drinking wine, listening to southern opera, and “playing fist.” The “fist” here refers to the Southern Shaolin Martial Arts, the Five Ancestor Fist, we usually hear about.
In villages south of Quanzhou, Wuzuquan is practiced by all families, like in the village of Lucou, where it was less of a sport and more of a practical means of defending themselves from Japanese pirates because it was a remote coastal village. In order to defend themselves, the village would create a Lion Team in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. They universally practiced the “Killing Lion” martial arts and would resist the pirates with cudgel, spear, cane shield, and dart.
This has nearly 300 years of history up till now.
So what is the connection between “Killing Lion” and Five Ancestor Fist? The Killing Lion refers to the Quing Dynasty army. The people are the students of Five Ancestor Fist. The people who killed the Qing soldiers did not practice any other art than Five Ancestors. This can be seen in their footwork which reveals Wuzuquan footwork. All of their hands and movements are from Five Ancestor Fist.
Wuzuquan is the most representative boxing in the Southern Shaolin Boxing series, but also has the longest history and is spread to the most extensive areas among the seven boxing types in the Fujian Province.
So who created it and when?
The first time when Five Ancestor Fist was mentioned was 1895, according to literature in Taiwan. In folklore, there is a story concerning when Five Ancestor Fist was formed. During the Kangxi Dynasty, the Shaolin monks rehabilitated the rebel army of the West Lu State with the use of excellent martial arts. They enjoyed a widespread good reputation. However, some rumors began that they conspired against the state. The Kangxi Emperor sent 3,000 soldiers to Mount Song and burned the Shaolin temple down. Out of hundreds of monks, only five survived and fled to the temple in Quanzhou. Those five were called the Shaolin Five Ancestors. While at the temple, they summed up what they knew and combined it with the local martial arts of Quanzhou, thus initiating Five Ancestor Fist. Thus, it took root and flowered in Quanzhou and created many branches of Southern Shaolin martial arts. This is the widespread story of Five Ancestor Fist. However, there have been questions of the story due to the lack of literature about the Western Lu State. This could be just a folktale.
What does history tell us? The five styles of boxing occur in different time periods, but Taizu Boxing appears in Quanzhou’s historical records. From that, we can trace Wuzuquan back to the Song Dynasty in the Northern China Boxing Assembly.
After Zhao Kuangyin, Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, ascended to the throne, he spoke of the application of Taizu Boxing and its skills while drinking with his subjects. From there it spread to the Shaolin Temple. There is a special history concerning its spread to Quanzhou.
Quanzhou was like a “Small Hong Kong” in the Song Dynasty. At the start of the Maritime Silk Road, Quanzhou was economically prosperous. Many royal populations moved to Quanzhou. Some of them were masters of Taizu Boxing. Taizu Boxing can be found in many historical records.
When the soldiers of the Quing Dynasty broke in, Zheng Chenggong supported Xiamen Island. Many immigrants took the Quanzhou culture and Five Ancestor Fist to Taiwan.
The famous General Yu Dayou, in the Ming Dynasty, has connections to Wuzuquan. Yu Dayou wrote a book called “Sword Treatise.” It is the first martial arts treatise found in China. It describes some martial art principles. He learned the Taizu Boxing of Five Ancestor Fist as recorded in the Quanzhou Chronicle. He also learned Monkey Boxing, which is a style in Five Ancestor Fist. He learned Baiyuangong in Quingyuan Mountain.
History
According to folklore, there is a story of when Five Ancestor Fist was created. During the Kangxi Dynasty, the Shaolin monks of Song Mountain strengthened the army of the Lu State, a rebel state. They taught them Shaolin techniques that made the rebels stronger and better prepared for conflict. This began rumors that the Shaolin were conspiring against the Emperor, so 3,000 soldiers were sent to destroy the Shaolin at Song Mountain. Only five monks escaped with their lives. They fled to the southern temple in Quanzhou, and became known as the Five Shaolin Ancestors. There, they combined their knowledge and created Wuzuquan. Wuzuquan took root in Quanzhou and blossomed, spreading out to many villages and towns. This is the folklore tale about Five Ancestor Fist, as there is little evidence for the existence of a Western Lu State.
More substantial evidence can be traced to Quanzhou’s history during the Song Dynasty (900s). Zhao Kuangyin, the founder of the Song Dynasty, would spend time in Quanzhou, which was regarded as a very prosperous maritime city. Many royal families moved to Quanzhou to enjoy the richness of the city. At this time, the tale goes, Kuangyin was drinking with his servants and shared with them the skills and principles of Taizu Boxing, one of the styles within Wuzuquan. From there, Taizu moved from the Emperor’s court down to the Shaolin Temple, and then to the general populace. Historical documents place Taizu at the Northern China Boxing Assembly at that time.
There was a popular saying in Quanzhou, “Fist, Wine, Opera.” This was describing the entertainments of the citizens of Quanzhou, drinking wine, listening to opera music, and practicing kung fu, which was Wuzuquan. Wuzuquan refers to five ancestors including Taizu, Luohan, Dazun, Xingzhe, and White Crane. These five styles of boxing are united into one called Five Ancestor Fist. Emperor Kuangyin created Taizu Boxing. It’s methods involve close fighting techniques and getting close to an opponent step-by-step. Dazun refers to the Bodhiharma, combining meditation and softness to the hard techniques. Luohan is aggressive and motionless using forcefulness and motion to accomplish one’s goals. Xingzhe is Monkey Boxing, with sure footwork and flexibility in jumping. Finally, there is White Crane Boxing, penetrating with the White Crane Dance. The five styles are united into one featuring the aggressive and fierce power and the masculine beauty.
There is another version of Five Ancestor Fist that comes from possibly the 1300s. A rich merchant’s son was obsessed with the martial arts and sent out an invitation to traveling Masters for a preservation of their skills. Five Masters responded. As the six men worked on creating this new style, a woman, known only as Hian Loo, wearing a green dress, laughed at the men, calling them out for their harshness. They tested her and found her skill was superb, and she is recognized as adding the finer points of softness and subtlety to Wuzuquan.
The more verifiable history begins in the 1800s with Chua Giok Beng, a martial arts master who lived in and around the area of Quanzhou, in the Fujian Province. He was renown for his skills in the art of Wuzuquan and from him came ten disciples who named themselves the Ten Tigers. Beng was credited for a revival of the system and its spread.
"It is better to have never fought a battle, than to have won a thousand."
Great Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong, Dato
His Story
Dato Chee Kim Thong
Chee Kim Thong
However, he was not the only Master of the system, as it was practiced by the Shaolin Abbot Lin Xian. At this time, it was a general practice of the martial art Masters to keep their systems within family. However, Lin Xian had witnessed a young man proficiently defend himself in a public setting, yet he remained humble about it. Lin Xian inquired about the young man and found that he was gaining some notoriety and fame in his execution of Northern Shaolin techniques. That young man was Chee Kim Thong.
Chee Kim Thong was invited by the Shaolin priest to tea. At the conclusion of the meeting, Xian agreed to take Chee on as a pupil. He originally only planned to take Chee Kim Thong on for a year, but due to the young man’s diligence and aptitude, he kept him on for an additional two, spending all that time teaching not just Wuzuquan but also herbal medicine, the healing arts, Five Elements theory, and calligraphy. At the close of three years, Chee’s training was passed to Xian’s sister, Yu Neo, who specialized in the softer aspects of the art. He continued with Yu for another year before his training was complete.
It was in the 1930s that Chee became involved in the military during the invasion of the Japanese, and he was responsible for a guerilla militia that was known as the Big Knife Army. Armed with broadswords, they would carry out attacks against the Japanese using the techniques that Chee had taught. Eventually, it became so dangerous for Chee, that he fled China, moving to Malaysia in the northern province of Terengganu. As the Japanese continued their conquest, Chee Kim Thong fled to Kuala Lumpur, and then to Singapore. When the Japanese invaded Singapore, he fled back to Malaysia. He stayed in hiding for quite some time, returning to the village of Dungun. He concealed his martial skills, but not his healing arts and became renown as an expert bonesetter and practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Eventually, word of his martial prowess got out, and a man named Yap Ching Hai persuaded Chee Kim Thong to begin teaching again.
"A Martial Arts Teacher must always come from a place of giving, to pour out his cup and fill the Student's."
Grandmaster John Graham Sr
His Story
Grandmaster John Graham Sr
John Graham
In 1971, a young Marine named John Graham, was stationed in Rota, Spain. It was his first time overseas and he came across a martial arts class and fell in love with the discipline. “It was the energy of the room, the way they were moving. It was what I had been looking for!” Graham began studying Shotokan. He was sent back to the States for a short time, to Charleston, South Carolina, where he found a Kempo class. Then, he was sent to the UK, London, where he found the Iron Man of Karate, Steve Moorse who trained in Goju Ryu. While in London, Graham was walking down the street one day, in 1973, when he noticed a brochure advertising a demonstration by a Chinese Grandmaster of Kung Fu. That Grandmaster was Chee Kim Thong.
After the demonstration, Graham decided to train in Wuzuquan. “It was my suspicion that what I was seeing in Wuzuquan, was actually the Grandfather of Goju Ryu.” This suspicion has been proven by Grandmaster and Historian George Alexander, on a later trip to the Quanzhou Province with Graham. The Japanese did indeed learn White Crane from the White Crane Masters in villages like Putien.
Graham began studying under Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong, and eventually he returned to the United States and began a career as a police officer. He taught Wuzuquan at the local college and eventually purchased land and opened his school on Dawes Road in West Mobile, Alabama, where it remains to this day. For over 28 years, Graham journeyed to Maylasia and China to study with Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong. John Graham, now a recognized 10th Dan Grandmaster of Wuzuquan by the Chinese Government, maintained a strong and vibrant relationship with Chee Kim Thong until his death in 2001. His school has become an internationally recognized center for training and research in Wuzuquan by the Quanzhou Wuzuquan Asssociation. After Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong’s death, he continued to travel to the Philippines and Quanzhou, China, in an effort to continue his learning and expand his understandings of Wuzuquan.
Grandmaster Graham’s Headquarter’s School in Mobile, Alabama is a premier training center to learn Wuzuquan and study it in all of its facets. It is recognized as an official research center for the study of Wuzuquan by the International Wuzuquan Association. Grandmaster Graham has very close ties with the Headmaster of the Nine Dragons Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou, Master Chee Chin Wei, who has worked with Graham on weaponry and forms. He has trained privately with Grandmaster Alexander Co of the Beng Kiam Wuzuquan style in the Philippines. He has had Master Xiao Feng, the Inspector General of the Quanzhou Wuzuquan Association, as a guest in his school, where Xiao taught a 200-year-old two-man set practiced in the Shaolin Temple, Liumenbafa. At his Headquarters school, Graham teaches Chee Kim Thong and Kong Han separately, emphasizing to his students that their knowledge of Wuzuquan should not only be deep, but wide, including the form taught by Master Wei, Wuzuquan Paqua. All of these forms are taught separately and distinctly, slowing raising his students’ understanding of Wuzuquan.
Not only is he well received in Asia, Graham is also well known in the West. In 1988, he began training under Grandmaster Bill “Superfoot” Wallace, and the Father of Kickboxing, Joe Lewis. When he met them, he became fascinated with their techniques of methodology of fighting. To this day, he continues training in both of their systems, having earned an 8th Dan in the Superfoot System and the Joe Lewis System. He has been a Director on the Superfoot Board of Directors, and an Executive Director on the Joe Lewis Board of Directors. He facilitates cooperation and goodwill as the organizations continue to grow.
Honors and Promotions
Grandmaster Graham has served as the 11th President of the International Nan Shaolin Wuzuquan Association. He travels to China at least once a year to maintain the good relationship with the Quanzhou Wuzuquan Association and the Nine Dragons Temple. He is a Delegate of the International Wuzuquan Association.
Grandmaster Graham has an 8th Dan in the Superfoot System and Joe Lewis Fighting System. He has an 8th Dan from the Chee Kim Thong Organization, and was appointed Chief Instructor of the USA by Chee Kim Thong in 1990.
He has a 9th Dan in the Kong Han Wuzuquan system from Grandmaster Henry Lo. He has also trained with Beng Kiam Grandmasters Alexander Co and Bonaficio Lim.
He brings a unique perspective to Wuzuquan, because of the four styles he had studied: Chee Kim Thong, Kong Han, Beng Kiam, and Quanzhou.
Sifu Todd Doyle
Todd Doyle began his martial arts career back in 1990, when he first attended University of Mississippi, and his roommate, Chris Thomas, has just started a Kung Fu Club. Wanting to try something new, he agreed to attend the class, and over the course of the next 4 years, he fell in love with the art of Wuzuquan. Todd had always favored books over atheleticism. When he graduated his first degree Black Belt, Master Graham said, "Guess what? You're an athlete now." The slow transformation took hold, and he has been training ever since. He had the opportunity to train twice with Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong, and has, over the course of the past 30 years, made hundreds of trips to Mobile, Alabama to be trained by Master Graham. He has trained with the Vice Secretary-general of Fujian Provincial Martial Arts Association, Master Xiaofeng. He also traveled to Malaysia for Grandmaster Chee's 80th Birthday celebration. He has been to China twice, once in 2003 for the famous General Yu Dayou's 500th Birthday, and in 2019 for the 30th Anniversary of the International Shaolin Wuzuquan Association. He achieved a 5th Dan ranking on June 4, 2017.
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