FORTY YEARS

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黃漢勛先生服務國術界四十年榮休紀念特刊
COMMEMORATING WONG HONFAN’S FORTY YEARS OF SERVICE TO CHINESE MARTIAL ARTS
出版者：港九螳螂拳同學會　漢勛健身學院
published by the Hong Kong-Kowloon Mantis Boxing Alumni Club & the Honfan Fitness Academy
編輯者：黃鵬英　黃文階
edited by Huang Pengying & Huang Wenjie
[published in Hong Kong, 1972]

[translation by Paul Brennan, Dec, 2022]

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黃漢勛先生服務國術界四十年榮休紀念特刋
Commemorating Wong Honfan’s Forty Years of Service to Chinese Martial Arts
岑維休題
– calligraphy by Shum Wai Yau

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發刋詞　黃漢勛師父退休紀念　韋基舜
FOREWORD: COMMEMORATING MASTER HUANG’S RETIREMENT by Wei Jishun

黃漢勛師父自少習武，行有餘力，則以學文；今為螳螂派一代宗師，著作等身，文武雙全。吾師對中國之武術文學誠有一定貢獻，今以高年退隱，不才奉師手諭及同門師兄弟之命筆，乃為紀念冊作發刊詞。
文德武功，黃師父之成就各有其源。師為人好自學，蓋嘗閱報而竟爾能文；武則為螳螂派正統出身，師承山東羅光玉師父而許為嫡傳弟子。黃師父我武維揚，四十年如一日，拳不離腳，腳不離拳。
師對徒弟之教育，「知無不言，言無不盡」。為其特點，故一貫無保留，盡將螳螂派之真功秘訣供諸於世。既以武傳家，復以文載道，數十年育才甚衆。
不才忝列門下，亦本知言之旨以撰此文。不知黃師者或謂我吹捧，其實黃師父封刀立嗣，根本不需要任何過譽。況其四十年來，効忠於國術，服務於精武，此有恆之決心與行動，已值得吾人效法及景仰。
紀念冊付梓，命我撰寫發刊詞，曾遲遲未敢下筆，蓋師父及其門下多學有所成。今遵囑勉成此文，深以為本書之應受重視者，誠不僅為黃漢勛師父退休之紀念冊，並可謂為螳螂拳派一最有系統之歷史文獻。
一九七二年三月草於香港
Master Huang Hanxun [Wong Honfan] has practiced martial arts since he was young, and having energy to spare, he also became a scholar. He is regarded as one of the top Mantis masters of his generation, and he has written so many books that they could be stacked up next to him and match his height. He is therefore both a man of martial prowess and a man of letters. Having made significant contribution to Chinese martial arts literature, he is now retiring. At his invitation, and the elbowing of fellow students, I here provide some introductory words for this special commemorative volume.
　　There are reasons for his martial and scholarly achievements. The key to his literary accomplishment is that he is fond of learning on his own. Being an avid reader, he naturally became a capable writer. The root of his martial excellence in the Mantis tradition lies in learning the art directly from Master Luo Guangyu. Master Huang has been promoting our nation’s martial arts consistently for forty years, practicing constantly and obsessively [“the boxing never leaving his feet, his feet never leaving the boxing”].
　　When teaching students, he shares all that he knows and explains everything fully. His unique personality trait is that he never holds anything back, and so of course he would share the authentic secrets of the Mantis art with the whole world. He has passed the torch of this martial tradition to the next generation and has recorded its wisdom in books. Over the course of decades, he has educated a great many people.
　　I am unworthy to be one of his students and unqualified to provide any wise words of introduction. Some may cynically think that such a statement is just an attempt to flatter him, but no, I assure you that he is immune to that. His forty years of dedication to Chinese martial arts and service to Jingwu shows his perseverance in both thought and action, indeed making him deserving of our emulation and admiration.
　　After he asked me to write the foreword, I procrastinated for a long time, full of doubt, for he and his other students have accomplished so much more than I ever could. Now I have finally fulfilled my duty and completed this short piece because I am convinced of the worth of the book itself, realizing that it is not just about commemorating Master Huang’s retirement, but also that it serves as a priceless historical document for the art of Mantis Boxing.
　　- written in Hong Kong, March, 1972

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目錄
CONTENTS

發刋詞
Foreword
黃師漢勛肖像
Portraits of Huang Hanxun
各界賢達題字
Inscriptions Contributed from Prominent Figures in All Walks of Life
四十年來相片
Photos from the Last Forty Years
論文
Articles:
　任事四十年　黃漢勛
　Looking Back at These Forty Years by Huang Hanxun
　我的初學拳術和雜談　韋漢生
　My Experience of Learning Martial Arts & Other Ramblings by Wei Hansheng
　國術興替史　黃漢勛
　On the Rise & Decline of Chinese Martial Arts by Huang Hanxun
　同學會　謝淸洲
　Our Alumni Club by Xie Qingzhou
　黃師漢勛與近四十年來之國術運動　黃漢超
　Master Huang Hanxun & the Last Forty Years of Martial Arts Exercise by Huang Hanchao
　憶仲兄　黃漢勛
　Remembering My Elder Brother by Huang Hanxun
　斥自我分家之不智　黃漢勛
　Chastising the Foolishness of Trying to Divide the Art into Separate Styles by Huang Hanxun
　螳螂拳術起源與系統（附源流表）　黃漢勛
　The Origin & Transmission of the Mantis Boxing Art (including a lineage chart) by Huang Hanxun
　我們拜師曲禮之回憶　陳玉良
　Looking Back at Our Disciple Ceremony by Chen Yuliang
　領拳——螳螂拳之特色　黃文階
　Two-Person Versions of Solo Sets – A Special Feature of Mantis Boxing by Huang Wenjie
　「搏擊」之提倡者　禤紹燦
　A Promoter of Fighting Arts by Ta Shaocan
　國術略談　葉烱財
　A Brief Discussion of Martial Arts by Ye Jiongcai
　出版叢書歷盡滄桑　蘇世民
　Trials & Tribulations of Publishing the Mantis Boxing Book Series by Su Shimin
　螳螂拳是具整體性的完美權術　黃鵬英
　Mantis Boxing is a Perfect Martial Art by Huang Pengying
歷屆畢業同學錄
List of All Honfan Fitness Academy Graduates
拳套講義圖解
Four Practice Sets with Photos & Instructions:
　（一）螳螂偷桃
　1. Mantis Steals a Peach
　（二）飛雁掌
　2. Flying Goose Palms
　（三）落鷹掌
　3. Descending Eagle Palms
　（四）醉酒地躺單刀
　4. Drunken Groundwork Saber
編後話
Editors’ Postscript

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黃師漢勛肖像　六秋開一時攝
Portrait of Master Huang Hanxun at age fifty:

黃師年二十榮膺漢口精武體育會　國術教員初穿全黑教員制服時所攝
Master Huang at age twenty, having just been given a teaching position at the Hankou Jingwu Athletic Association, wearing the all-black uniform of new instructors:

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各界賢達題字
INSCRIPTIONS CONTRIBUTED FROM PROMINENT FIGURES IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE:

故于右任先生之墨寶
A treasure scroll of Yu Youren’s [who died in 1964] calligraphy given to Master Huang many years ago:

猿臂丁年出塞行
灞陵醉尉莫相輕
旗亭被酒何人識
射虎將軍右北平
Li Guang as a fit young man with long strong arms
went out to the frontier.
The snobbish official who detained him in Baling
should not have treated him with such scorn.
Who do you think you are, little man?
This is the general famous for mistaking a boulder for a tiger
and managing to shoot his arrow through it anyway,
and who is now the governor of Youbeiping.
漢勛老兄書　于右任（漁洋詩）
– for “elder brother” Hanxun, calligraphy by Yu Youren (from a poem by Wang Shizhen)

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前中央國術館館長張之江先生題字
Inscription by Zhang Zhijiang, director of the Central Guoshu Institute:

術德並重
Give equal emphasis to both skill and morality.
之江
– Zhijiang

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精武創辦人故盧煒昌先生題字
Inscription by Jingwu founding member Lu Weichang:

練藝貴能貫通精氣神
Practicing these arts will enable the smooth flow of essence, energy, and spirit.
盧煒昌　漢勛同志囑書卄八、四、四
– inscription by Lu Weichang for my colleague Hanxun, Apr 4, 1939

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精武創辦人故陳公哲先生題字
Inscription by Jingwu founding member Chen Gongzhe:

香港精武會聯合海內外精武拳師響應東華三院八十週年紀念義演銷票冠軍
A gift of calligraphy for teachers at Hong Kong Jingwu Association who answered the call to participate in the fundraising performance for the 80th anniversary celebration of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals:
社會精神
A real show of community spirit!
香港精武體育會敬贈　陳公哲書
– Chen Gongzhe, at the Hong Kong Jingwu Association [1951]

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太祖師范旭東遺墨（書于少林真傳第五卷）
An example of Grandmaster Fan Xudong’s handwriting (from Volume 5 of Authentic Teachings of Shaolin):

少林真傳　古育黎范旭東氏錄
Authentic Teachings of Shaolin – as recorded by Fan Xudong of Yuli Village

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港九漢勛健身學院　黃漢勛先生退休紀念
For the Hong Kong-Kowloon Honfan Fitness Academy, a gift of calligraphy to commemorate Master Huang’s retirement:
文德武功
He has both scholarly integrity and martial skill.
越南精武體育會會長李普儀敬題
– Li Puyi, director of the Vietnam Jingwu Association

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黃漢勳先生榮休紀念
A gift of calligraphy to commemorate Master Huang’s retirement:
望重武林
We in the martial arts community look up to you.
馬來西亞金寶精武體育會敬題
– from the Kampar Jingwu Association, Malaysia

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黃漢勛先生服務海內外精武體育會及國術界四十年光榮退休紀念
A gift of calligraphy to commemorate Master Huang’s retirement after forty years of service to the Jingwu Association and the martial arts community as a whole, both within the nation and abroad:
桃李滿門
His students are everywhere.
馬來西亞梹城精武體育會敬題
– Penang Jingwu Association, Malaysia

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漢勛先生榮休紀念特刋
A gift of calligraphy for this special volume commemorating Master Huang’s retirement:
望重武林
We in the martial arts community look up to you.
香港精武體育會主席高智題
– Gao Zhi, director of the Hong Kong Jingwu Association

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黃漢勛先生榮休紀念
A gift of calligraphy to commemorate Master Huang’s retirement:
武林共宿
He made everyone in the martial arts community capable of coexisting.
港九酒樓茶室總工會敬題贈
– Hong Kong-Kowloon Restaurant & Teahouse Workers Union

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漢勛健身學院紀念特刋
A gift of calligraphy for the Honfan Fitness Academy’s special commemorative volume:
國術之光
To the glory of Chinese martial arts!
九龍總商會理事長（謝伯昌）敬題
– Xie Bochang, Chairman of Kowloon Chamber of Commerce

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黃漢勛先生精研國術服務海內外精武體育會及國術界宣揚武化垂四十年懋績殊勛世㪽同欽謹誌一言以紀其盛
Master Huang has conducted exhaustive research in our martial arts. After serving the Jingwu Association and the martial arts community as a whole, both within the nation and abroad, dedicating himself to the work of revitalizing our martial arts for the last forty years, his outstanding achievements are admired everywhere. In awe, I offer this simple statement to proclaim the magnificent result of his accomplishments [quoting from the Book of Documents, document 28]:
我武維揚
“Our martial prowess is on the rise.”
香港培正中學校長李孟標　一九七一年十二月吉日
– Li Mengbiao, principal of Pui Ching Middle School, Dec 1, 1971

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黃漢勛先生紀念特刋
A gift of calligraphy for this special volume commemorating Master Huang’s retirement:
宣揚國術
To the spreading of our martial arts!
甄子傑題
– Zhen Zijie

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黃漢勛先生榮休紀念
A gift of calligraphy in commemoration of Master Huang’s retirement:
術德兼備　實至名歸
He is a man of both skill and virtue.
His achievements will bring him lasting fame.
陳漢宗敬題
– Chen Hanzong

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黃漢勛先生紀念特輯
A gift of calligraphy for Master Huang’s special commemorative volume:
國術之光
To the glory of Chinese martial arts!
張錦添敬題　一九七一、十二、卄七、
– Zhang Jintian, Dec 27, 1971

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漢勛先生榮休紀念特刋
A gift of calligraphy for this special volume commemorating Master Huang’s retirement:
承先啓後
He links past and future.
羅君籌題
– Luo Junchou

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漢勛先生榮休特刋
A gift of calligraphy for this special volume commemorating Master Huang’s retirement:
宣揚武德
He spreads martial virtue.
盧少華敬題
– Lu Shaohua

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黃漢勛師榮休誌慶
A gift of calligraphy in commemoration of Master Huang’s retirement:
武德可風
He is a model of martial virtue.
陳勁題
– Chen Jin

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漢勛先生榮休紀念
A gift of calligraphy in commemoration of Master Huang’s retirement:
望重武林
We in the martial arts community look up to you.
孫寶剛敬題　一九七一年十二月
– Sun Baogang, Dec, 1971

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黃漢勛先生服務海內外精武體育會及國術界四十年光榮退休紀念
A gift of calligraphy to commemorate Master Huang’s retirement after forty years of service to the Jingwu Association and the martial arts community as a whole, both within the nation and abroad:
宣揚武化　勞苦功高
In the project to revitalize our martial arts,
his hard work has produced incredible results.
馬來西亞檳城精武體育會國術指導鄺啓裔敬題
– Kuang Qiyi, martial arts instructor at the Penang Jingwu Association, Malaysia

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漢勛同門師事羅公光玉逺紹祖師王朗之緒畢生光大師門啟迪後進心㳒拳術發揚彌多茲值榮休震儀忝屬同門同席用綴無辭藉㽞鴻爪云耳
My classmate Huang Hanxun learned from Luo Guangyu the art that was passed down long before from Wang Lang. All his life, he has carried forward the teachings to enlighten future generations. After passing on the teachings and skills for so many years, he has now decided to retire. I am unworthy to even eat at the same table, for he has struggled without complaint to maintain the tradition.
相承一脈　逺紹王門
宗師羅老　攻玉傳薪
精武接席　子獨輪囷
卌年教澤　化雨夝暄
甘棠興頌　天則乾元
The art he has carried on started from Wang Lang long ago.
Master Luo carved him like jade in order for him to pass down the teachings.
Jingwu gave him a position, then he helped Jingwu stay alive.
After forty years of influence upon education, he has brought clarity like rainy skies becoming sunny.
He is praised, for there is harmony.
陳震儀敬題　歲次辛亥冬日於香港九龍陳震儀武術館
– Chen Zhenyi, director of the Hong Kong-Kowloon Chen Zhenyi Martial Arts School, winter solstice, 1971

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港九螳螂同學會　黃漢勛師傅榮休紀念特刋
A gift of calligraphy for this special volume commemorating Master Huang’s retirement:
我武維揚
“Our martial prowess is on the rise.”
吳漢琛敬題
– Wu Hanchen, of the Hong Kong-Kowloon Mantis Alumni Club

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紀念黃漢勛師兄服務精武及國術界四十周年特刋
A gift of calligraphy for this special volume commemorating my “elder brother” Huang Hanxun’s retirement after forty years of service to the Jingwu Association and the martial arts community as a whole:
精進不息　武林同欽
His ceaseless enterprise
has made him admired throughout the martial arts community.
檳城精武體育會國術指導師弟黃錦洪敬題
– Huang Jinhong, martial arts instructor at the Penang Jingwu Association

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漢勲兄榮休誌慶
A gift of calligraphy in congratulations to my “elder brother” Hanxun on his retirement:
名重武林
His name carries great weight within the martial arts community.
岑志光
– Cen Zhiguang

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黃漢勛同志退休紀念
A gift of calligraphy for my colleague Huang Hanxun in commemoration of his retirement:
螳螂正宗　術德兼重
精武服務　我武維揚
His Mantis Boxing is the real stuff,
he possesses both skill and virtue equally,
and because of his great service to Jingwu,
“our martial prowess is on the rise”.
馬來西亞檳城楊清河敬題
– Yang Qinghe of the Penang Jingwu Association, Malaysia

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漢勛名師榮休紀念
An inscription of good wishes in commemoration of Master Huang’s retirement:
傳統國粹　蜚譽武林
For maintaining the traditions of our cultural essence,
let him be famous forever in the martial arts community.
劉三穆撰頌　辛亥孟冬
– Liu Sanmu, 1st month of winter, 1971

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承先啟後發揚螳螂拳技
Linking past and future, he carries on the Mantis boxing art.
黃翔
– Huang Xiang

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紀念黃漢勛師叔服務精武及國術界四十週年特刊
A gift of calligraphy for this special volume commemorating my “uncle” Huang Hanxun’s retirement after forty years of service to the Jingwu Association and the martial arts community as a whole:
發揚國術精神四十年如一日
He has promoted the guoshu spirit consistently for forty years.
檳城精武體育會國術主任師侄黃百忠敬題
– Huang Baizhong, director of the martial arts department of the Penang Jingwu Association

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黃漢勛業師榮休留念
A gift of calligraphy in commemoration of Master Huang’s retirement:
武藝薪傳
This is how you pass down martial skills.
受業周湛燊拜撰
– his student Chau Cham-son

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已故周埈年爵士題贈　黃師鏡屛由其公子周湛燊獻呈，中立者乃韋基舜同學
A gift of calligraphy from the late [having recently passed away at the beginning of the year] Chau Tsun-nin (壽卋益羣 “Here is a means of longevity for the masses.”) presented by his son Chau Cham-son to Master Huang (with Huang’s student Wei Jishun standing in the middle):

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讀書學剣兩無成此心耿耿
鐘鼎山林俱不遂雙鬚肅肅
“To fail at both book learning and sword training – that is a distracted mind.
To fail at both conquering the world and hiding from it – that is to be admired.”
黃漢勛於乙巳九月初一書梁公鼎芬聯
– calligraphy by Huang Hanxun (from a couplet by Liang Dingfen), 42nd year of the cycle, 9th month, 1st day [i.e. Sep 25, 1965]

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四十年來相片
PHOTOS FROM THE LAST FORTY YEARS:

羅公崩步拳之跨虎斜補捶攝於一九三六年秋
Master Luo performing SITTING-TIGER STANCE, DIAGONAL FILLING PUNCH from Avalanche Steps [Posture 2], autumn, 1936:

羅公攝於一九三六年夏天
Portrait of Master Luo, summer, 1936:

鷹爪派大師精武總敎練陳子正先生於一九三一年贈與之演拳相片
Two photos that were presented as a gift, showing Eagle Claw master Chen Zizheng, a Jingwu chief instructor, performing boxing postures, the photos originally taken in 1931:

黃師五秩開一榮壽時攝
Nine photos of Master Huang exhibiting robust health at the age of forty:

六合雙刀之坐盤攔劈式
1. Performing SITTING-TWISTED STANCE, BLOCK & CHOP from Liuhe Double Sabers [Posture 35]:

子午劍之老僧入禪式
2. Performing MONK GOES INTO A TRANCE from Sundial Sword [Posture 19]:

燕靑單刀之懷中抱月式
3. Performing EMBRACING THE MOON from Yan Qing’s Single Saber [poetic name for Posture 37c]:

通珍劍之丹鳳展翅式
4. Performing PHOENIX SPREADS ITS WINGS from Tongzhen Sword:

大桿子之姜公釣魚式
5. Performing GRAND DUKE JIANG FISHES from Long Pole:

螳螂雙提爪式
6. Performing MANTIS LIFTS BOTH CLAWS from Plum Blossom Fists [Postures 5 & 19]:

虎尾三節棍之漁翁撒網式
7. Performing OLD FISHERMAN CASTS HIS NET from Tiger Tail Three-Section Staff [though the position in the photo does not really seem to resemble either Posture 6 or Posture 27]:

春秋大刀之獨柱金樑式
8. Performing A PILLAR SUPPORTING A ROOF BEAM [actually 鶴立雞群 A CRANE STANDING OUT AMONG CHICKENS] from Spring & Autumn Halberd [Posture 22]:

梅花槍之蘇秦佩劍式
9. Performing SU QIN CARRIES HIS SWORD ON HIS BACK [actually 纏繞背槍式 COILING THE SPEAR AROUND THE BACK] from Plum Blossom Spear [Posture 41]:

黃師於一九五八年五月五日所攝之醉羅漢演式
Master Huang performing RISING UP TO OFFER A TOAST from Drunken Luohan Boxing [Posture 31] (photo taken on May 5, 1958):

一九三七年初創漢勛健身院於興漢道時與發起人共影
Group photo of Master Huang and his sponsors at the founding of the Honfan Fitness Academy on Hing Hon Rd, 1937:

一九四五年螳螂國術館創辦人及同學合照亦卽今日漢勛健身院之前身也。
Group photo of the founders and students of the Mantis Guoshu Institute (which later became the current Honfan Fitness Academy), 1945:

港九螳螂拳同學會成立於一九四六年於慶祝關岳二聖時全體合攝
Group photo of the Hong Kong-Kowloon Mantis Boxing Alumni Club for their celebration honoring the Two Martial Saints, Guan Yu and Yue Fei, 1946:

港九酒樓茶室總工會國術訓練班開學典禮留影
Memento photo for the opening ceremony of the martial arts course for the Hong Kong-Kowloon Restaurant & Teahouse Workers Union:

女子中學而設有國術訓練者，在香港言陶淑中學開其先河也。黃師歷任該校凡十餘年之久。陶淑中學高小國術隊合影一九五〇•七•六•
A martial arts program was established in girls’ schools, the Cultivated Young Ladies Middle School being the first in Hong Kong, where Master Huang taught for more than ten years. Group photo of the Cultivated Young Ladies Middle School martial arts team, July 6, 1950:

一九五一年東華三院八十周年紀念時黃師以精武名義獨力為該院籌募善欵而義演於「修頓籃球塲」全體同學合照
Group photo of Master Huang and Jingwu students at the fundraising performance given on the basketball courts of Southorn Playground in honor of the 80th anniversary celebration of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, 1951:

一九五三年精武會為商討復興大計而假金龍大酒樓歡讌旅港敎師及職員合照
Group portrait of Hong Kong Jingwu Association teachers and staff, during a banquet at the Golden Dragon Restaurant, discussing plans for rejuvenating Jingwu, 1953:
後排：吳大新　潘茂容　陳公哲　吳漢琛　盧秀東
(Back row: Wu Daxin, Pan Maorong, Chen Gongzhe, Wu Hanchen, Lu Xiudong)
前排：張俊庭　李孑農　劉法孟　吳公儀　黃漢勛　蔡仲夔　馮竹修　劉金泉
(Front row: Zhang Junting, Li Jienong, Liu Fameng, Wu Gongyi, Huang Hanxun, Cai Zhongkui, Feng Zhuxiu, Liu Jinquan)

一九五六年七月九日華僑健身院邀請黃師開班設敎於開學禮成時所攝
Not long after Master Huang had been invited to start a class at the Overseas Chinese Fitness Academy – group photo at the opening of their Mantis Martial Arts Class, July 9, 1956 (photographed by 泰山攝 Tazan Studio):

一九五四年四月十八日九龍總商會為義校籌募經費假座荔園遊樂塲舉行南北國術義演黃師代表武精贊助義舉演出時由九龍中醫師公會理事長獻錦旗時攝
In order to raise funds for volunteer schools, the Kowloon Chamber of Commerce held a benefit performance of “Northern & Southern Martial Arts” at the Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park, April 18, 1954, in which Master Huang gave his support as a Jingwu representative, shown here being presented with a silk banner from the chairman of the Kowloon Chinese Herbalists Association during the event:

全體表演員合攝。
Group photo of all performers at the event:

漢勛健身院參加歡迎菲臘親王青年大會　國術表演全體合照　一九五九年三月廿九日攝
Group photo of the participating martial artists from the Honfan Fitness Academy, performing for the Youth Conference’s welcoming ceremony for Prince Philip, March 29, 1959:

一九六零年八月八日黃為應市民需要起見特設分診所於砵蘭街開幕時攝
Grand opening of Huang’s injury clinic on Portland Street, established for the needs of the local townspeople [and including a salesroom for his books], Aug 8, 1968:

一九六七年黃師自資建院開幕時由周湛燊同學主持揭幕禮禮畢與黃師合影
Chau Cham-son and Master Huang, after the opening of the Mantis Traumatology Research Institute (which Huang funded with his own money), Chau presiding over the unveiling, 1967:

各同學合攝
Group photo with students at the event:

一九六八年黃師創設傷科傳習班第一屆畢業員合攝
Group photo of the first graduates of the Institute, 1968:

一九六八年九月十三日應香港電視廣播公司邀請作螳螂拳專題表演黃師與主持人余安講解演出項目時情形
Invited to provide a special demonstration of Mantis Boxing on Hong Kong television, Sep 13, 1968 – Master Huang standing here with host Yu An, explaining each performance:

參加演出之全體同學
The students who participated in the performance:

黃師於一九六九除夕告退精武敎務時由年齡最輕而學習最久之黃德望同學代表贈獻紀念品時
Upon resigning from Jingwu, being presented with a memento for his services by young but long-training student Huang Dewang, Lunar New Year’s Eve, 1969:

及全體歡送同學合照。
Group photo of students at the farewell party:

一九七零年度第廿三屆畢業典禮上各級畢業員於領文憑後合照
Group photo of graduates at all levels after receiving diplomas, 23rd graduation session, 1970:

一九七零年港九螳螂拳同學會第二十六屆聯歡時全體出席之歷屆特級畢業同學合影缺席者旅美之黃漢超，鄺鉅堂及旅澳之陳玉良鄭祥與洪澤外餘均出席
Group photo for the 26th gathering of the Hong Kong-Kowloon Mantis Boxing Alumni Club, seated members being graduates at the expert level, 1970 (absent from the photo are Huang Hanchao & Kuang Jutang, who were in America at the time, as well as Chen Yuliang, Zheng Xiang, and Hong Ze, who were in Australia):

黃師於授憑後致詞時攝
Master Huang giving a speech at the event:

中文大學新亞書院研究所畢業禮中邀請本院同人表演助慶黃漢超同學亦畢業員之一，當日表演醉拳時所攝，攝影技術至佳，而演者亦佳，全身平直而不着地，面部表情之雍容難得之傑構也。
Invited by colleagues to add to the celebration at a graduation ceremony at the New Asia College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Huang Hanchao, himself an alumnus of the college [majoring in Chinese history], performs Drunken Luohan Boxing [Posture 17] (There is exquisite skillfulness in both the timing of the photographer and the precision of the performer. His whole body is straight, with no part of it touching the ground, and yet his facial expression remains dignified, very difficult to do when pulling off such a stunt.):

中華民國參拾五年六月二日蒙關卓先生之介紹假座香港襟江大酒家拳行向黃師遞門生帖執弟子禮因攝留紀念恭呈漢勛先師賜存
陳玉良　張顯棠　麥雄興　李其森　姚黃勝　蘇應芳　黃鑑西　敬贈
A memento portrait presented to Master Huang by Chen Yuliang, Zhang Xiantang, Mai Xiongxing, Li Qisen, Yao Huangsheng, Su Yingfang, and Huang Jianxi, having just been made his formal disciples, the ceremony being held at the Hong Kong Jinjiang Restaurant at the recommendation of Guan Zhuo, June 2, 1946:

故師伯黃漢寰月牙钂之演式
Master Huang Hanhuan performing with the crescent-moon fork:

–

論文
ARTICLES:

任事四十年　黃漢勛
LOOKING BACK AT THESE FORTY YEARS by Huang Hanxun

民廿一年奉羅師鈞命創設螳螂國術館於澳門南灣街卅三號，時年僅十八稚齡而已，由於年輕而設備簡陋，復缺宣傳，因此從習者寥寥數輩；半年後始見好轉，由數人增至十餘人，由館務開展而後受聘於鐸聲遊樂社，孔敎學院，尚志中學等，館中學員亦日有增益，前途露出一線曙光。翌年循例往港與羅師賀歲，師將漢口精武聘函與看，並表示港中同人力挽，因而未克應聘，曾與港同學商派一人代往，惟多嫌遙遠及涉險至今尚空懸該缺，並示余曰：澳門地頭狹小無大發展機會，但武漢三鎭並峙，工商發達數倍於澳門，兼且待遇頗高，月薪達五十元及招待食宿，如汝有意應聘者為師亦了卻一宗心願。
余稟師曰：漢年幼不知勝任否？師曰：吾允許派汝自代者當有主意，汝旣吃「拳頭」飯則不必顧慮許多，但汝有母在堂亦宜稟準方可。於是余兼程歸澳先將經過先與長次兄商量，兩兄均主張前往，然後由長兄向母陳述一切，母亦允許，余立卽函稟師尊並著手結束澳門所有兼職及館務。又接師諭示云：已得漢口精武執事來電催促就道，祈早到港候船北上云云。
在港逗留三天所獲尤勝於習技三年，首蒙師允準錄於門牆之下與李兄渭一，朱兄志祥，區兄興漢，李兄觀瀾假東山酒店舉行拜師大典，晚上復假國民酒家歡讌師尊及各同門。其次則得師授以六套兵械俾充實學識。又承師授以臨急應變之道，死裏逃生之機，使余終生感激並且使余有取之不盡，用之不竭之妙。又蒙精武同人茶會歡送及各同門設讌讌別以壯行色，隆情可感至今未忘。余初到漢皋卽感頗多難題。
（一）言語不通。
（二）學員俱年長於余及高大於余（時余具有五尺七寸高及一百五十八至百六磅體重）。
（三）原任敎師在任頗久，甚得人緣，並有岐視之意。
幸得國術組長識芝壽君（曾短期從羅師遊）以身作則參加螳螂班學習，由此影響下螳螂班始能站穩腳步，識君又介紹許多粵籍朋友與余同鄕愛護之情幾逾骨肉至今銘感未渝。在漢三年先後受聘於「市立體育專門學校」籌備委員及技術主任；世界戲院國術主任；警備司令部上尉敎官及各界抗敵後援會大刀術總敎練等職。
迨至民廿六年七七抗戰軍興，國家民族陷於生死存亡之境，國人皆集中精神為神聖之戰而捨死亡生，於是精武乃陷於停頓狀態。余亦以離家日久兼且戰火日逼，於是乃南返百粵重抵家門，未幾卽返香港晉謁吾師再隨左右獲益匪淺，並樹立個人事業基礎而設漢勛健身院於興漢道。復先後承「陶淑女子中學」、「中南中學」、「漁民學校筲箕灣分校及鴨脷洲分校」、「民強體育會」、「勵存國術社」及「茶居工業總會復強分部，光義分部」等國術主任。
香島三年又八個月之黑暗時代中，余仍舊與惡劣環境搏鬥，並將漢勛健身院遷至深水埗大南街擴充院址加強招生，雖在飢寒窮困中殊不氣餒，直至香江重光則聯絡紛從內地返港之精武同人重組母會，除任敎員外，並連任八屆國術主任及駐會總幹事之職，並蒙市政衞生局職工總會、港九酒樓茶室總工會、茶居工業總會屬會復強分部、惠羣分部、耐廬支社聘為國術主任。翌年陶淑女子中學復校，漁民協進會屬校亦紛紛復校，再被聘為國術主任。在兩三年間頗受社會人士所重視，余分身乏術乃使韋棣漢生，麥棣華永，陳棣鎭華等分別設院傳技，成績亦頗不惡。余亦稍可抽閒為社會多做點事，時中正勞工子弟學校，為籌募經費而商於余，余自瀋除致力於國術運動外，餘無他長，旣承諮詢於余，余祗有向此中動腦，結果擬定「南北拳師義演大會」復由該校董事局邀余出席會議，由余陳述如何進行及估計經費與預料結果等詳為解答，再經全體董事商討後授余以全權進行，余旣擔承重任不得不力為奔走，幸蒙各同道予以支持，允為演出之現役拳師竟達七十八位之多，包括已故名師：崔華、林耀桂、董英傑、崔章、劉賢、葉雨亭、耿德海、吳肇鍾、麥展晴等。由於人數超出預算，逼得分兩晚舉行，地點是中華靑年會禮堂。
由於首次舉辦南北拳師大會串，各界人士鑒於各大拳師之威名，蒞塲參觀者衆多，因而絕早滿座，不得其門而入者祗有望而興歎而已。
義演結束後，該校為酬謝各拳師之見義勇為而設讌於靑年會食堂，酒過三巡，由余代表起立致詞；由於數十位拳師共敘一堂為少見之塲合，而且歡洽之情洋溢，余一時忽有所悟而隨卽提出曰：以今晚之情況言可謂破歷史紀錄，吾人旣共為一事而賣力，曷若為本身事而奠立一個基礎？此基礎是建立一個組織，有組織始可以言團結，有團結便是力量，有力量何事不可為？於是衆皆鼓掌贊成，並由劉賢先生薦余為召集人，余推以衆長在堂焉敢擅大？劉先生責余曰：閣下旣已提出，又復推卸，此乃不負責之建議而已！衆皆和之，於是余祗好硬著頭皮一幹耳。
後在大道中龍泉茶室召開全體會議；出席者八十餘人均接納由余提出之「港九國術拳師聯誼總會」一名，並卽席選出籌備委員十五人，常務五人，余被選為主席，副主席則由劉賢擔任。在酒樓茶室總工會設臨時辦事處。在籌備中旣缺財力又乏擔任文書工作者，余祗好濫竽充數，舉凡起草章程，來往文書，奔走聯絡等俱集於一身，雖不至廢寢忘餐，至低限度亦因公廢私矣。同時內地來港同業頗衆，生活大部陷於困境而求助於余，余曰：會未成立又缺經常費實難應命矣；茶飯之資余私人可任之，籌備期中遇此者凡百數十宗余俱聊盡微責。經三個月之籌備工作，章程亦獲同人大會通過，於是呈遞「華民政務司」申請立案，未幾由該署總文案黃翠微約見。（黃君亦為上海精武老會員），余與劉賢同往，據言：國術界向多紛爭，何況拳師與拳師之間更多岐見，日後甚難管理，因此上司囑囘復礙難照準云云。
余再三陳述衆人融洽團結之近況亦為所拒。余翌日卽先召集籌備委員會議，將會見經過陳述，然後再召開同人大會，余將失敗責任完全負起並卽席引退以讓賢能繼任，惟衆均認為事無可為時卽當解體不必另選矣。於是衆贊成斯議而宣佈解體。今之有國術總會之設可説紹源於此，（余亦承該會邀余參與組會，惟自顧四十年工作於斯已至筋疲力竭，與其濫充毋寧讓賢之為計，今目覩團結興盛之成就余亦感安慰，固不必佔有名位也。）
迨後余卽退求其次，是卽致力發揚本門拳術也。竊以傳授範圍至小，知者不廣，識者更小，若欲廣於流傳，莫若著述行世，惟余祗曾就讀於村中私塾八閱月而已！著書立説談何容易哉？何不量力乃爾！但余蓄志已久，志在必行，至得失成敗固未計及也。至文字佳劣亦未詳加考慮。
但求就事論事，見圖解圖，務使讀之者明白便是。於一九四六年將「螳螂拳術叢書第一種」螳螂拳術闡秘印單行本面世，糜資千餘元，俱余節衣縮食所得者。當時余抱著成功固可喜，失敗亦由之之心理。翌年卽將售賣所得再出第二種「崩步拳」，直至最近已著至廿八種。余以發行百種為目標，並且抱著以書養書辦法，卽是以每年盈利若干而計劃用作印書之資，並不藉此圖利；余雖抱純正光明之志，惟彼唯利是視之奸商將余所出版者全部翻印，余志不在利固無傷於余，惟模糊之圖片，錯誤之文字，受害者為讀者諸君耳，余最近三年未再出版新書乃肇因於此也。
與此同時並恢復精武制度而設考試至今已歷二十五屆，計八年特級者卅餘人，各級共計約近四百人。由特級而任敎者亦廿餘人。
為使先後同學有聯誼機會而創設「同學會」國術界而有同學會者余敢言實開其端也。今日國術界普設同學會余不禁曰：吾道不孤也。迨後余又被聘為東方體育會執行委員兼國術主任，及華僑健身院國術敎練，志達健身院國術主任，培正中學國術主任等職。
直至六九年底乃決定先告辭所有各處職務，手創之學院則延至七一年底卽全面退休，初本擬將院務亦一倂結束，但中經資深同學多人力陳創辦之不易，一旦毀之未免可惜，並建議由小兒繼任為敎務工作，惟余以小兒年輕資淺難膺重任，兼且大學尚未完成實有顧此失彼之虞，其志固不在當拳師，余亦主張其注重讀書以求他日立身社會之為是。因此余乃明告各同學，如果有人繼承敎務則可維持現狀以徇衆意，但何人可任敎則決定於余，余乃舉出數人，俾他們自選，結果由黃文階秉承特別班敎務，禢紹燦則擔任晚班，余仍任院長負監督之任。
本刋乃由旅美正在賓州大學攻博士學位而兼該校國術敎練之黃漢超同學所倡議而由各地同學響應而編印者。
余自退休後，先整理積稿及續寫未經出版之講義，計之約三十餘套，余將繼續全部寫成之以達百套之願望，至出版與否現仍未有計劃，看將來情形始能決定。本刋旣為任事四十年而發刋，余祗好將四十年來往事約畧言之如上，稍可告慰者，厥以稚齡而遠離師門設敎，遠離家長而出外而能無大錯失者對恩師慈母稍減罪衍。當日武林是非至多，尤以武漢地居華中，全國各族雜居，余以南人而北上授北拳招妒至大，招事生非之徒比比皆是，撥草尋蛇之輩到處可見，余初履江湖不知涉險之大，因此常為彼輩找尋對象。余銘記恩師臨別叮嚀曰：「人過留名，雁過留聲，肉可糜爛，骨可寸斷，辱及師門寧可共亡」。四十年其往矣，雖經任何艱巨從未驚動恩師，抑亦無負叮嚀至囑之語，今日仍有人爭為羅門弟子為榮者，不知曾對螳螂拳作任何提倡與推行？余不敢侈言發揚光大，但每有著述俱大書特書為「山東蓬萊羅師光玉授」，建院亦以禮堂命名為「光玉堂」。今日目覩螳螂拳大盛於各地，余深感欣慰，余於此時退出武林亦效昔人所謂急流勇退之道而已。
In 1932, I accepted Luo Guangyu’s command to establish a Mantis Guoshu Institute at 33 Nanwan Street in Macao. I was only eighteen. Due to my youth, the crude facilities, and a lack of publicity, there were hardly any students. After about six months, I started to see some improvement, going from just a few students to a dozen. After the school opened, I also accepted teaching positions at the Duosheng Recreation Club, Confucian Academy, and the High Aspirations Middle School. With this expanded exposure, the school steadily gained more students and the future looked brighter.
　　The following year, I went to Hong Kong with Master Luo for the New Year celebration, where he showed me a letter of invitation for a teacher at the Hankou Jingwu Association, drawing the curiosity of my Hong Kong colleagues. I felt I could not accept it anyway and discussed with them about who could fill the position. Most of them disliked how far away it was and the gamble of so drastic a move, and so the position remained vacant. Luo took me aside and told me: “Macao is tiny, so it doesn’t offer you as much opportunity to grow your school, whereas the triple city of Wuhan [made of Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang] is an industrial and commercial center many times larger than Macao, which means your salary would be higher. And with your meals and lodging taken care of as well, it’d be a better way to fulfill your ambition to teach for a living.”
　　I responded: “I’m too young, I don’t think I’m qualified yet.” Luo said: “I’ll let you make up your own mind. Don’t worry about being qualified, you’ve eaten your fair share of knuckle sandwiches to know what you’re talking about with students. But since you have a mother who’s still living, you should certainly go ask her permission first.” I thereafter quickly returned to Macao and talked it over with my brothers. They both encouraged me to pursue the chance. Then I went to my mother and explained everything to her. She too gave her approval, so I promptly wrote a letter to Master Luo informing him and then set my affairs in order, resigning from all of my various teaching duties in Macao. Luo sent me instructions: “Already received telegram from Hankou Jingwu staff, who urge you to be on your way, hoping you make it on time to northbound boat from Hong Kong.”
　　Spending the next three days in Hong Kong was better than the last three years of training. On the first day, I was at last made a formal disciple of Master Luo, alongside Li Weiyi, Zhu Zhixiang, Qu Xinghan, and Li Guanlan. A grand ceremony was held at the Eastern Mountains Restaurant, followed in the evening by a banquet at the Citizens Restaurant. On the second day, Master Luo then gave us all additional instruction in the practice sets for half a dozen weapons in order to further enrich our knowledge base. I have felt forever indebted to him for teaching me skills that will help me to adapt in a crisis, to escape from a life or death situation, and for causing me to develop the remarkable faculty of having an inexhaustible supply of techniques. On the third day, Jingwu colleagues gave us a farewell tea party, followed by a banquet for all us in which we were presented with money for travel expenses. Those three days meant a lot to me, and I have never forgotten them. But when I first arrived in Hankou, I felt beset with difficulties:
　　1. The language barrier (I could only speak Cantonese).
　　2. The students were all older and taller than me. (At that time, I was five foot seven and weighed about a hundred sixty pounds.)
　　3. The previous teacher had held the position for a long time and had developed a close bond with those students, so naturally they were biased against me.
　　Fortunately, the head of the martial arts department, Xie Zhishou (who for a while got to accompany Master Luo in his travels) set an example by personally joining in for the Mantis class, which due to his influence then started to make steady progress. Xie also introduced me to many Cantonese friends, among them even people who had come from my hometown. I still feel deeply grateful to him. During my three years in Hankou, I was also employed in several other positions: preparatory committee member and special skills director at the Municipal Physical Education Technical School, martial arts director for the World Theater, instructor to the officers at the army garrison headquarters, and instructor in large saber methods for the volunteer reserve militia.
　　Then in 1937, on the 7th of July: Japan invaded, war began. With the whole nation caught in a life or death situation, the people unified their spirit to commit to a sacred struggle, ready to risk everything. Jingwu had no choice but to shut down for the time being. I had already been away from home for a long time and now the flames of war were crowding in all around. I decided to return south to help support my family. Not long after getting back to Hong Kong, I visited Master Luo and then accompanied him everywhere, an experience I greatly benefitted from, after which I laid what became the groundwork for my own career by establishing the Honfan Fitness Academy on Hing Hon Rd. During those years, I also served as martial arts director for the Cultivated Young Ladies Middle School, Zhongnan Middle School, the Shau Kei Wan branch and Aberdeen Island branch of the Fishermen’s College, the Strong Citizens Athletic Club, the Encourage Survival Martial Arts Society, and for the Reviving Strength chapter and Shining Righteousness chapter of the Teahouse Workers Union.
　　After almost four years in Hong Kong during those dark days, I remained in a situation of struggling, so I relocated the Honfan Fitness Academy to Tai Nan Street in the Sham Shui Po District in order to have a larger space and thereby draw in more students. Although I was hungry, cold, and broke, I was not discouraged. With post-war Hong Kong booming, I contacted various Jingwu colleagues who had returned to Hong Kong from the mainland to reorganize the Jingwu school here. In addition to serving in it as an instructor, I was given an eight-year term as martial arts director and appointed as secretary-general. I was also hired as martial arts director for the Municipal Public Health Workers Union, the Hong Kong-Kowloon Restaurant & Teahouse Workers Union, and for the Reviving Strength chapter, Shining Righteousness chapter, and Patience Cottage chapter of the Teahouse Workers Union. By the following year, classes had also resumed at the Cultivated Young Ladies Middle School and at the branches of the Fishermen’s College, where I was again hired as martial arts director.
　　Within about three years, I had become a respected person in society. Because I needed to find more spare time to work on the gaps in my own skills, I had my “younger brothers” Wei Hansheng, Mai Huayong, and Chen Zhenhua each set up their own academies to teach the art, a strategy that worked so well that I actually ended up with even more time to do things for the community.
　　At that time, the Chiang Kai-shek Young Workers College consulted me about ways to get more funding. Since I of course never have anything else in my mind except martial arts, my only suggestion was a “Northern & Southern Martial Arts Masters Benefit Performance”. I was then invited to a meeting of the board of trustees to explain how to proceed with this idea, to estimate both how much funding it would require to hold such an event and how much funding the event would generate. After some deliberation, they put me in charge of arranging the whole thing, a heavy responsibility and very busy task. Luckily, I had support from many colleagues. The number of masters who consented to perform rose to an astonishing seventy-eight, including many famous ones who have since passed away, such as: Cui Hua, Lin Yaogui, Dong Yingjie, Cui Zhang, Liu Xian, Ye Yuting, Geng Dehai, Wu Zhaozhong, Mai Zhanqing, etc.
　　Due to the unexpected volume of spectators, the event had to be spread out over two evenings, the site chosen being the auditorium of the Chinese YMCA. Being the first time that a large gathering of northern and southern martial arts masters was ever held here, and considering the renown of so many of them, people from all walks of life attended in huge numbers, quickly filling the venue to capacity. Those who could not manage to squeeze into the space could only hope to glimpse something and then sigh when they missed it.
　　After the performance finished, a banquet was held in the YMCA cafeteria as an act of gratitude to the masters for “seeing what needed to be done and bravely doing it” [a quote from History of the Song Dynasty, bio of Ouyang Xiu (itself an inversion of this saying by Confucius, Lun Yu, 2.25: “Seeing what needs to be done and not doing it is cowardly.”)] After there had been several rounds of drinks, I stood up as representative for the whole event to make a speech. However, due to the rare sight of so many masters gathered together amicably, I suddenly had a revelation and immediately brought it up:
　　”This evening could be said to break the historical trend. We have come together for a single cause and dedicated all of our effort into seeing it succeed, thereby initiating the start of something that is bigger than anyone of us. Building upon this foundational moment, we could establish an organization, which would demonstrate a unity, and from that unity, we would derive greater strength. With that strength, what could we not accomplish?”
　　Everyone applauded in favor of this idea. Master Liu Xian then recommended that I be made “convener”. I protested that there were so many better people than myself right there. He rebuked me: “Excellency, you were the one who convened us for this occasion. Now you want to withdraw from the job you’ve already started doing? You’re not living up to your own suggestion!” All agreed and thus I had accidentally got myself forced into the role.
　　So I later convened a meeting of all members at the Dragon Spring Teahouse. More than eighty were present, all of whom had accepted my proposal for a “Hong Kong-Kowloon Martial Arts Masters Friendship Association”. During the dinner, fifteen were selected to become a preparatory committee and five to run daily affairs. I was elected as chairman, Liu Xian as vice chairman. A provisional office was set up in the Restaurant & Teahouse Workers Union. Lacking financial resources and clerical staff, I had to do all the paperwork myself, involving drafting the Association charter, sending and receiving all correspondence, and rushing around as liaison to everyone. Although I did not get to the point of robbing myself of sleep or meals, I was putting duty before self and ended up pushing myself too far.
　　At the same time, many colleagues were coming into Hong Kong from the mainland because their livelihoods had been destroyed [by the communist takeover], and they came to me for help. I had to tell them that the Association had not yet even been properly established and severely lacked funding, and that it was therefore very difficult for me to do anything for them. I had to pay for their food with my own money, and doing this hundreds of times while in the midst of putting the Association together almost made me destitute. After going through three months of preparatory work, the final draft of the Association charter was finally revealed at a meeting of all members and approved. The next step was to present it to the Chinese Civil Administration in order to apply for official registration. An interview was soon arranged through Huang Cuiwei, who had become a government secretary (and had previously been a member of the Jingwu Association in Shanghai).
　　Liu Xian and I went together to put forward our case, saying: “The Chinese martial arts community is full of quarrels, there being endless disagreements between masters. Without such an organization, such problems will soon be harder and harder to manage. Therefore we urgently seek official recognition.” The reply we received was basically: “Our apologies, we do not find it convenient at this time.” We repeated our case over and over, explaining about our recent camaraderie and unity, but were still rejected.
　　The following day, I convened the preparatory committee and reported the situation to them, then convened a meeting of all members, where I took full responsibility for the failure and resigned from my position so that it could be filled by someone more qualified. Everyone instead felt that there was no point in selecting a replacement since the situation seemed to be hopeless anyway, better to just let it all go. All agreed and declared the Association disbanded.
　　(At least this project was arguably the seed of today’s Hong Kong Guoshu Association [formed in 1969]. I was invited to participate in organizing it, but I was already burned out after forty years of hard work, and so I left it in the hands of more capable people. Seeing the marvelous unity they have achieved is a great consolation to me and I feel no need for my previous efforts to be celebrated.)
　　Once I had eventually given up on that dream, I decided to instead focus all my efforts into promoting Mantis Boxing. It struck me that personal instruction can only reach a relatively small number of students, and thus the art is not widely known and very rarely known in detail. Surely the best way to spread it widely would be to put it in writing and publish it for all to see. Alas, I had only attended the school in my village for a year. To write a book is easier said than done. I dreaded that it might be beyond my capacity. But I maintained the ambition for a long time, and that ambition was what saw me through, enabling me to not care about success or failure and just get on with it, to not be too finicky about the quality of the writing and just write. Thinking about how best to proceed, I most of all wanted to make sure that readers could easily understand the explanations and photos/drawings.
　　In 1946, Volume 1 of the Mantis Boxing Book Series was published: Secrets of the Mantis Boxing Art. The printing costs set me back over a HK$1000 [and the books were priced at HK$5 per copy], which was manageable only due to my frugal living. At the time, I was thoroughly gratified by the achievement and had a mentality of indifference about any losses I had to suffer to make things happen. The following year, the earnings from the first volume went toward producing Volume 2: Avalanche Steps Boxing Set. This series of books ended up totaling twenty-eight volumes.
　　My goal originally was to publish a hundred volumes, and to do this through the method of using the books to make more books, in other words to take profit each year from the books sold so far and put it into the printing costs for the next batch of books, rather than making a profit for its own sake. My intentions were pure and sincere, but then some unscrupulous greedy man began making his own reprints of all my books without permission and selling them. Since I am not profit-minded, I did not really feel injured that he was profiting from my labor. What bothered me was that the quality was so poor, the cheaply mimeographed photos looking blurred and murky, the sloppily retranscribed text riddled with ridiculous and confusing errors. I felt sorry for the real victims: the readers. This was the reason I stopped publishing new books for so many years.
　　On the brighter side, I am proud to have restored the Jingwu testing system, which we have so far maintained for twenty-five years. Looking at the results at all levels, there have been nearly four hundred people who have succeeded in completing a significant part of the course. Almost ten percent of them have gone through the full eight years and graduated at the expert level, more than twenty of whom are now serving as teachers themselves.
　　I also founded an “alumni club” in order to give students more opportunity to form friendships. There are now alumni clubs throughout the martial arts community and I think I can claim to have started the trend. Since they are everywhere, I guess I have a right to say it: all great minds think like me. I was later also hired as administrator and martial arts director for the Far East Athletic Club, as well as instructor at the Overseas Chinese Fitness Academy, and martial arts director for the Realized Ambition Fitness Academy and for Pui Ching Middle School.
　　I decided I would resign first from my various extra positions at the end of 1969, then wait until the end of 1971 to fully retire from the school I founded myself. I initially considered closing the school as well, but senior students convinced me that because of the effort I had put into starting it in the first place, it would be a shame to suddenly throw it all away. The obvious suggestion was made that my sons should take it over, but I thought they were still too young and inexperienced to bear the full responsibility, and also too busy anyway since they were in the midst of college studies. Their ambitions also did not really seem to lean toward becoming martial arts teachers, and so I freely encouraged them to focus more on academic studies as a more likely way to someday establish themselves in society. I therefore told the senior students that if there really are any individuals who can inherit and maintain it, I will decide who are the ones that are qualified. I put forth several names and then let them make the final choice from those candidates. The result: Huang Wenjie would inherit the position of overall head instructor, Ta Shaocan would be in charge of running the evening classes, and I would still serve nominally as director in a supervisory role.
　　This commemorative volume was the idea of my student Huang Hanchao, who is a fully qualified instructor in this school and is currently striving toward a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. Contacting fellow students, many of them also having moved to various other places, he has compiled the pieces that form the content of this book. Since retiring, I have been arranging my piles of handwritten manuscripts and continuing to write new manuals, so far recording more than thirty practice sets, and I hope to keep at it until I get to a hundred of them. As to whether or not they will get published, I have not made plans yet, but we shall see how it goes. This book about my forty years is intended for publication, though above I have made only the briefest outline of events throughout that time.
　　My experience of going far from home to start teaching at such a young age may help ease some of the worries of mentors and mothers about their own students and children: it turns out that we can leave home and not entirely screw up after all. However, it was pretty tough in those days, for there was plenty of feuding within the martial arts community, especially in a place like Wuhan, where all the different ethnic groups from throughout the nation tried to live among each other. Since I was a southerner, my job of teaching a northern martial art to northerners created a lot of jealousy. Students who wanted to start fights about it were everywhere, as were older teachers looking for any reason to criticize. When I first set out on my voyage there, I had no idea I was walking into danger and would often be a target of such people.
　　I will always remember my master’s parting warning [quoting from Boy & Girl Heroes, chapter 32]: “‘People pass through life leaving only a reputation, just like geese passing by overhead leaving only their sound.’ Flesh may be torn, bones broken. But suffer insults to our art? Better if we all die.” It has been almost forty years since I saw him. No matter what struggles he encountered, nothing ever rattled him, and he always lived up to his words of warning. There are still people today who get into fights for the honor of Luo Guangyu’s teachings, though I cannot think of any among them who have also done anything to actually promote Mantis Boxing.
　　I would not dare to give wild gushing praise to this art in an attempt to promote it, but on the cover of each book that I have published, I proudly wrote the words “as taught by Master Luo Guangyu of Penglai, Shandong”, and for the Mantis Traumatology Research Institute, I named the auditorium “Guangyu Hall”. Seeing that Mantis Boxing is flourishing today in so many places, I feel deeply gratified. For me to withdraw from the martial arts community at this time is in line with the ancient advice [from Su Dongpo’s “A Gift of Poetry for Xiang Chengjie”]: “The best time to retire is at the very height of your career.”

–

我的初學拳術和雜談　韋漢生
MY EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING MARTIAL ARTS & OTHER RAMBLINGS by Wei Hansheng

我初學拳術的時候，忘記是否在一九三五、六年，好像是初冬的季節裏，大約是一個十七八歲的年靑小夥子，我的哥哥着我去學功夫。年靑的我，對於各樣的運動都非常愛好的，而且在華中的武漢三鎭，武術是非常普遍的，師傳是廣東人，而且很年靑，敎的是北派，我當時聽了覺得很驚奇。我是在十一二歲已經看了不少舊式的武術小説，北方的拳術是了不起的，和另一個想法，常見跑江湖賣藝的，都是由北方南下的，這位師傳膽敢由南方北上，一定有相當的功夫，所謂藝高人膽大，當年的登門較技的，是常有的事，南方叫做踢盤。
第二天早上，哥哥帶着我去見師傳，這才知道師傳是姓黃的，順德縣人，連才就敎我學習八式，南方叫做剳馬八式是八個步法，經過幾日才能弄淸楚，半個月後才開始學習基本手法。這個月來，就覺沒有甚麼味兒，曾經對我哥哥説，有退學的意思，經哥哥的督促，和老師的鼓勵，只知道羨慕人家，是不對的，要實際的練才有好功夫，所謂千里之行，始於足下，不能只作臨淵羨魚，這種想法，大約一般初學拳術的同學們的弊病吧！萬事起頭難、基礎沒有造好，就像做戲的老倌，行來行去，好看不切實用，所謂花拳繡腿的棚面功夫，這是我初學貪多的弊病吧！
專心的練習，冬季裏，苦寒中，常常在零度和零下幾度，是常有的，每朝不停地練。同學們，我們雖然知道練功夫，功夫，是無影無形的，功夫究竟是甚麼東西呢！我知道的，大約是站在最辛苦的角度，和時間，譬如，剳馬企立在地上，能算是剳馬嗎？剳馬是有他一定的高低和角度，是一個最辛苦位置，和時間，站得長久些時候，覺得更加辛苦了，這是其中的一個例子，我們能將各式的最辛苦的，練到不覺辛苦，這才算是下過苦功吧！才有些基礎。
冬去春來，我的拳套也多了，師兄們也熟落了，自然興趣也提高了，每朝練完應做功夫，總是由黃師請食早餐的，兩人約食一二角大洋，就覺很豐富了，這是卅多年前的事。這樣地學了幾個月下來，又遇些麻煩的事來了，提起了練拳，就覺手軟無力，早晨不願起來，時常缺課了，就給老師和哥哥知道了，查問起來，才知道有上述的情况，原來是一個好現象，這是常有的，這叫做換力，換力的時候，自己是不知道的，由這樣地懶惰下去，不知不覺地離開了武術的圈子裏，同學們：覺得有這種感覺嗎？若果有這種感覺的時候，那麼，我們就加緊的練習，這是本身的功力，又進了一步了，這種情形是時常發生的，是沒有規定的，有些很快的，有些很長久才發生，同學們，我們時常注意這事的發生，就是我們又進了一步的時候。
我們的同學中，經過一二年的練習的時候，是一個危險的時期，不要以為自己的功夫了不起的，我們學習武術，是鍛鍊身體的，有强健體魄，做事有精神，更加要知道武術的修養，明白是非，有良好的武風，才是武界中的一個好榜樣，若果相反的話，造成了羣毆，獨鬥，世世代代的仇視，到底上代的結怨的事，怎樣產生的，也不知道，報仇，報仇，彼此報復是沒有了期的，那些無謂閒氣，所謂初而口角，繼之動武，有些更要不得的事，學了一二年，或兩三年的時候，不知道自己的功夫有沒有用，（使唔使得意思），就想出外試試，是不是這一招的用法好，或那一招的好用，不覺的出外撩事鬥非，造下了一些武鬥的風氣，同學們，我們到了一定的程度，就可練習搏擊法，不必出外試招了，按着我們的程度，一級一級的練下去吧！
在我們學習拳術和練習，常常在生活上有抵觸的，個人是愛好武術的，往往為着生活不能夠按時練習，這也失去了不少的武術好人材，言之可歎！可謂生活弄人了！
我們時常接觸很多的事，有些是會務的，慶祝、叙餐，旅行等等，這些工作都是集體的，開始的時候，彼此都非常高興，但在討論如何進行的時候，各有各的意見提出，大家都明白，少數服從多數，這個一定的方式，但有時對自己的意見不贊成，那千萬不要存些不妥的心理，更加不要有報復的想法，或者約幾個合心意的同學，集成一個小組，或幾個小集團，造成各種不愉快的氣氛，一些小事，討論，拖延很長時間，總不能决斷一些小事，或較大的事，就可能危害整個集體了。
我從學習醫術後，對於拳術方面疏懶了，非常慚愧，沒有好好的將拳術發揚，或多些見聞提供給同學們，今天得黃師榮休特刋，並囑我寫些文字，借此篇幅，畧寫我的初學和雜談，只限我沒有高深的文學，未能表達出我的心意萬一，這些淺膚的想法寫出了見笑了高明的人士呢？
I started learning martial arts in about 1935 or 1936. I think it was during the early part of winter. I was a young man of seventeen or eighteen. My older brother sent me off to learn martial arts. In my youth, I was in love with every kind of exercise. Martial arts were especially widespread throughout Wuhan. My teacher, also a young man at the time, came there from Guangdong in the south, and yet what he taught was a northern art. At that time, what I was learning amazed me. By the time I was just eleven or twelve years old, I had already been given the impression from reading old-fashioned martial arts fiction that northern martial arts were incredible. I also often watched street performers, all of whom had come down from the north. My teacher dared to break this pattern, coming up from the south. He was just as skillful as the northerners, and was considered talented and bold. Visitors often came to his home to challenge him, what southerners call “kicking the tray”.
　　One morning, my older brother took me to meet Master Huang. This was when I first learned what his name was and that he came from Shunde County. It was also when I started to receive instruction, starting with the “eight postures”. Southerners call them the “eight horse postures”, meaning the eight kinds of stances. After a few days of practice, they all made sense to me. Then after a couple weeks had passed, I started to learn the basic hand techniques. But by the end of a full month, I started to lose my inspiration and I mentioned to my brother that I felt I ought to quit. Due to my brother’s urging and Master Huang’s encouragement, I discovered that merely admiring the abilities of others was not good enough and that doing the actual practice is the only thing that will bring good skill. In the same way that “a long journey starts with a single step” [Daodejing, chapter 64], working at something is better than wishing for it, and to imagine otherwise is probably a common mistake among beginners.
　　The beginning is the difficult part, because if you do not take the time to build a good foundation, you will end up no better than an actor putting on a show. Moving this way and that, what you are doing may look pretty, but it is of no practical use, in the category of “a flowery arrangement of punches and an embroidery of kicks”. This is due to the error of beginner’s greed. Practice with total devotion. Even during the most oppressive days of summer or the bitterest days of winter, no matter if the temperature goes below zero, practice every morning without fail.
　　Fellow practitioners, although we know how to train gongfu, it is not a thing of physical substance, and yet it certainly is something. My understanding is that gongfu is most of all a matter of the hard work of standing in certain positions for long periods of time. This is not as simple as standing on your toes. The stances have particular heights and angles, making them hard work from the start. The longer you stand, the harder the work. If you can put enough work into them, you will eventually reach the point that you feel it is no longer hard work. Therefore the hardest work is building the foundation.
　　Winter passed, spring arrived. By that time, I had absorbed quite a few boxing sets. Gradually catching up with the more senior students naturally boosted my interest. After finishing practice each morning, Master Huang always treated me to breakfast. Since these meals were on the pricey side, it made me feel rather wealthy. This was more than thirty years ago. After continuing in this way for a several months, another problem arose in my training. I felt that my hands lacked strength, I did not want to get up in the morning, and I was often absent from the classes. When Master Huang and my elder brother noticed this, they started asking what had happened to me. They then explained to me that this situation is actually a good sign, a very normal thing called “plateauing”. When this occurred, I did not understand it, I simply became demoralized and lazy, unconsciously distancing myself from the martial arts community. Fellow practitioners, have you had this experience too? When this happens, it is necessary to increase your practice in order to progress. Plateauing does not happen according to a schedule. Some plateau sooner, some later. But pay attention to it when it happens, for it is actually the best opportunity to progress.
　　Among our fellow practitioners, getting through the first year or two of training is a dangerous time, dangerous because one is liable to think of one’s skill as being much better that it is. We learn martial arts as a means of exercise, developing a strong physique and a determination to get things done. But we also need to understand the self-cultivation aspect of martial arts, developing a refined moral sense and embodying virtuous martial customs in order to set a good example within the martial arts community. If we do the opposite of this, we will turn into rowdy hooligans who love to get into fights, and future generations will hate our kind forever.
　　How does such a situation come about? By not understanding the endless cycle of revenge: avenging an insult, then getting revenge for the avenging, then getting revenge for that revenge, and so on. Someone gets upset by something that should not be that upsetting anyway. Then there’s a quarrel, which turns into a fight, which escalates from fighting to killing. For the first couple years of the training, you will not yet really know if your gongfu is applicable or just meaningless display. You might wish to go out and give it a try, to see if this or that technique will work in a fight, and subconsciously stir up trouble to have an excuse, which will give your training an atmosphere of violence rather than virtue. Fellow practitioners, once you reach a certain level, it will be time to practice sparring, and so if you feel a need to go out and test things, please just wait until you are ready to spar.
　　To learn and practice a martial art often clashes with everyday life. Attending to other commitments means that people who love martial arts frequently cannot find the time to do the training. This causes many talented martial artists to fall by the wayside, a great pity. Alas, life treats us like toys. We often have a lot of things to do as a part of a group, such as meetings, parties, meals, travel, and so on. Everybody starts out happy, but once we begin discussing how to carry out these occasions, everyone expresses a different opinion. Everyone understands the principle that the majority overrules the minority, but what they decide can sometimes conflict with one’s own viewpoint. It is not worthwhile to fixate on these disagreements or try to argue your position forcefully. Sometimes those who feel the same way about things will form small factions, and then an ugly atmosphere forms between these factions. The factions will initially put off discussing certain petty disagreements between them, but they can eventually end up unable to make decisions together about large matters too, which would only threaten the cohesion of the larger group as a whole.
　　Once I started studying medicine, I became lazy in my martial practice. I felt ashamed that I was not doing my part to help promote martial arts or supply more knowledge to my fellow students. Now that Master Huang is retiring, I have been asked to write some words for the occasion. In response, I produced this piece briefly describing my experience as a beginner as well as some other ramblings. But I am not a highly literate man, and so I am no good at conveying my ideas. These superficial thoughts of mine will probably just make scholars laugh.

–

國術興替史　黃漢勛
ON THE RISE & DECLINE OF CHINESE MARTIAL ARTS by Huang Hanxun

自漢末華陀氏創五禽戲，俾作強健體魄來，後人多模倣其動作而演為拳擊之術。
達摩禪師面壁十年而悟禪機，並因虎豹相搏形勢而創羅漢一百又八式以為運動體膚之用，初無搏鬥含意也；惟後人根據其形態惴摩其手腳之運用，加以貫通融滙，斯卽少林拳術之由來。
本門祖師范旭東氏承歷代祖師口授訣要而著有少林眞傳五卷，恩師羅氏蒙范公盡賜之，漢勛亦蒙恩師賜予抄全。至香江淪陷，恩師北返，臨行謂漢曰：「離亂艱危之際，余此番北歸未知相會何時？身邊又缺可贈作紀念之物；汝待余不錯，任敎又已多時，成績不惡，今後光大本門之責，汝祈努力為之。」言已在行囊中檢出范公親手書寫之一卷授漢，當漢正欲伸手接受時，恩師再鄭重言曰：「此卷書萬勿遺失，更宜再四體味其中深意，母負余叮嚀致囑之語。」
書內力言拳術十八家乃由宋太祖趙匡胤為首，趙家長拳為拳術鼻祖也。漢並不根據各傳而爭辨誰為創始拳術者，惟以觀測所得則達摩初創之用意純為健身而設計。但趙匡胤為馬上持械以打天下者，其創拳訓練部屬固然處處皆著重於戰鬥為無可置疑者，若以時日計之當以達摩為先，若堅持趙氏為始之説者則曰：少林雖先但缺乏戰鬥性質何能稱之為拳術？漢於此擱置其所爭辨之理由及是非，且留待閱讀拙作諸君自下斷語可也。
中國自漢以迄唐俱以武功鎭懾寰宇，至今尤使遠夷稱漢人，唐人蓋餘威尚在也。唐以後亦足自守不衰，至遜淸初期尚能稱雄，惟自婦人當政迷信邪術致有拳匪之亂，八國陷京自招其禍。
義和團以後國人對拳術更失信仰；父戒子、兄戒弟毋習拳術以貽憂戚，其視拳術有若洪水猛獸。
中國固有武功何去？六藝之精神何在？如是者式微數十年，俟於四鄰而久欲鯨呑蠶食者正在竊笑國人之愚蠢，亦卽彼得嘗所欲之將臨也。
淸末河北霍公元甲屢敗外國力士，知恥圖強者固未嘗無人，祗機會未遇而已！
旣有此振臂高呼之機會於是有吾粵中山旅滬靑年盧君煒昌、陳君公哲、浙江姚君蟬伯等謁見霍公共商發揚中華武功以振奮圖強。霍公亦願將歷代傳媳不傳女之霍家迷蹤藝公諸於世，而由盧、陳、姚諸子徵募經費及糾集有志靑年，於是乃成立「精武」於上海，斯卽日後領導數十地區性分會超過千萬會員之中央精武總會也。由於組織健全，人材集中，宗旨純正（不吸煙，不飲酒，不談宗敎，不問政治。）於是中華武術中興迄今。當時派出代表晉京謁見執政當局提出三點要求：
（一）收囘全國運動會主辦權，（蓋前均由外人主辦，實為國體之奇恥大辱），並增國術動手比賽為錦標項目，首名賜銜為國士，次名為勇士，三名為壯士以榮之；
（二）將相沿已久之技擊明令頒佈全國改寫「國術」；
（三）將精武改為國立。
經多次磋商後一二項俱立卽實行，惟國立一事雖由能言善辯之代表團痛切陳詞亦無法接納，祗允另辦一間國立國術館以資提倡及滿足精武之要求；代表團以成功不必在我，但求政府出面提倡國術於願足矣。
事隔廿年盧煒昌先生與漢茗敘中環半甌茶室語漢曰：「當日政府當局實難接納第三點建議。」漢問其故，曰：「精武會員人數超過其黨員，恐吾儕有甚野心時則難控制矣。」漢又曰：「明知其難接納又何必提出？」盧微笑曰：「子尚年輕當未知深意所在，其實故難其難以達成一二兩點之目的而已！」不過日後之國術館亦當拜精武代表團所促而得成之也。
當漢出任敎員時正值國術中興至頂點之時，各省市除原有民間組織之精武外並紛紛以省立或市立國術館組成；分途並進，殊途同歸，各省市亦多舉辦國術比賽，如山西、南京、上海、廣西、湖南、武漢等；雄風重振，我武維揚，軍隊中亦加聘國術敎官以訓練徒手對搏術、刺刀術、大刀術等；因而日後山海關、喜峯口、淞滬等役我國以拙劣裝備而與具有近代新武器之強敵輕旋亦曾大顯神威也。
倭寇對侵華纏綿戰爭八年，中華錦繡山河淪作戰塲，鐵蹄所至奸淫殺掠，遭難國人數千萬，國術館固然蕩然無存，對純正之精武亦受摧毀淨盡。迄今卅年國內祗上海仍繼續辦理外，未聞再有興起者；海外則港、越、星、馬、檀，雖能草草復會，然精武精神迨非短期可復，誠堪浩歎也。
近日武俠小説充斥街頭，武俠電影多至無可勝計，此是國術重興現象乎？余曰：非也。握筆寫武俠小説者固多敎忠、敎孝、敎仁義者，但被人視為不合時宜；「老編」囑其寫新招，於是「隔山吹火」、「掌風吹樹」、「千丈深淵一蹤而上」等無不「美」備，有主觀卓識者看之祗作消閒而已！若彼稚氣未除之靑年看之則當作事實，當彼求師習技時與小説所言相印證，則大失所望，此為提倡抑摧殘無待漢之喋喋矣。
近代攝影技術高超，拍神怪電影時利用此類「特技」而引致一輩無知靑年信以為眞，其病與壞小説同。
近日又頗多新門派成立。拳派固然由人所創實無足異，惟必須潛心苦學，經過明師指點，本人有所悟然後可成；非不中不西，或日或暹互相湊成卽可視作自創。多且巧立名目，旣曰中國拳術，又加上一個「摩登」名堂「XX道」。人心思變，變，變，終必變至數典忘宗。
漢於收山後本無意再談論此等問題，惟盡效忠國術四十年之餘力勸勸有此「鴻」圖「慾」望之先生們，請為國術保留一些面子，請為國術保存一點眞武功、眞精神，則國術前途尚有希望；否則國術將由一輩「開山始祖」「掌門」「宗師」慾望者所摧殘無餘矣。吾書至此不禁擲筆三歎。
又有人以為新觀念、「新潮」乃淘汰舊觀念、舊思想之有力武器，一切祗顧趨新，惟是國術已經是舊的東西，誰敢侈言其武功優於前人？但當一個拳師之初期則藉仗師門之庇蔭而立身於社會，稍能獨立時則不惜否定其師之名義，甚或譭謗師門，更進而另立門派自封為「宗師」「掌門」此敗壞武風，破壞傳統武德比比皆是，以此而任由滋長，則悠久光榮之中華武術將何以傳世？
師門在生之時，旣已不尊敬，何必死後爭祭墳？戰後曾經發生過如下一則故事：蓋某名師殉難於淪陷初期，門徒星散，殮葬之資，亦須由友好募集草草殯葬於公墓；迨戰後復員故名師之門徒二人爭祭師墳，互爭嫡傳正統，互詆其短，由口角而動武，而見載醜聞於報端，騰笑武林，羞及師門，斯正如古人所謂：「生時不供養，死後祭靈前。」漢則謂之為：「生時不尊敬，死後爭祭墳。」奉勸有此企圖之靑年拳師們中國民間流傳之諺語曰：「簷前滴水」，又曰：「汝不孝順何能使子孫孝順。」
於此漢勛再痛切陳詞務望消除妄念，恢復已淪落之武德，共同為中華武功而奮鬥，使式微之中華武術重登中興境域。漢雖退出武林亦當馨香祝禱其成功也。
During the end of the Han Dynasty, Hua Tuo created the Five Animal Frolics in order to strengthen the body. Following generations imitated his exercises and made use of them for martial arts training. The Zen master Damo achieved enlightenment after staring at a wall for ten years. After observing a tiger and a leopard fighting, he also created his Hundred and Eight Luohan Postures for exercising the body. They were at first intended as pure exercises rather than martial techniques. Later generations deeply pondered upon these exercises for the arms and legs, then began linking them together into arrangements of continuous movements, which became the basis for the Shaolin boxing art.
　　Our branch of Mantis Boxing was passed down by Fan Xudong, who recorded the secrets of the art, which had been passed down orally through many generations, compiling them into a five-volume book called Authentic Teachings of Shaolin. Fan bestowed the book to my teacher, Luo Guangyu, who in turn gave a copy of the whole book to me. When the Japanese occupied Hong Kong, Luo decided to return north, and he said to me before leaving: “In times of war, people get separated. I have to go back north and I don’t know when we’ll meet again. Sorry I don’t have anything to give you as a memento. It would be a mistake to wait for me. Since you’ve already been teaching for quite a while, and you’ve not done a bad job of it, it’s your responsibility from now on to carry on the art. Give it all you got. Oh, hang on a minute, actually you should have this.” He then pulled a particular volume of Fan’s book out of his travel bag, handwritten by Fan himself, and presented it to me. As I reached out my hand to receive it, he then said solemnly: “This volume is all lost teachings. You have to experience this stuff a lot with your own body in order to appreciate the depth of its ideas. Don’t forget.”
　　Within Fan’s book, it is stated clearly that the first of the “eighteen masters” is the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, his Long Boxing being considered the earliest ancestor of the art. I am no position to select from the various traditions and to dispute over whoever it was that was the founder of this art, but I have noticed that Damo’s original intention for his art was purely for improving health rather than giving attention to fighting, whereas Zhao Kuangyin was a man on horseback, holding a weapon, conquering the whole country. The martial training Zhao established was obviously and in all respects focused on combat. Damo may have been first chronologically, but if Zhao is said to be the founder, then it has to be asked if Shaolin should even be considered a martial art, initially lacking a martial purpose. Never mind my thoughts on the matter, I leave it to you to decide.
　　From the Han Dynasty all the way to the Tang Dynasty, China always relied on its martial skills to dominate its territories. To this day, even foreigners consider the people of the Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty to be worthy of immortal prestige. After the Tang Dynasty had gone, its renown never diminished. In the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Tang still had more clout than Qing. By the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the Empress Dowager’s blind faith in magical abilities facilitated the Boxer Rebellion [1899–1901], resulting in the Eight-Nation Alliance [Germany, Japan, Russia, Britain, France, the United States, Italy, and Austria-Hungary] invading Beijing, thereby bringing disaster onto herself.
　　After the Boxer Rebellion, the Chinese people lost faith in their martial arts. Fathers stopped teaching sons, and elder brothers likewise stopped training younger brothers, for fear that they would be passing down something that would only cause trouble. They now looked upon martial arts in the same way that they regarded destructive floodwaters or dangerous beasts. Alas, our native martial skills began to fade away, and with it the spirit of the ancient “six arts” [referring in particular to archery and charioteering]. Our martial arts waned so much for several decades that neighboring nations wanting to bite chunks out of China began laughing at our foolishness and drooling in anticipation.
　　During the last years of the Qing Dynasty, Huo Yuanjia of Hebei repeatedly defeated foreign strong men. There have always been people among us who felt humiliated and wanted to become more powerful, and all they lacked was the opportunity to do it. Inspired by Huo’s achievements, Sun Yat-sen traveled to Shanghai, where together with the young Lu Weicheng and Cheng Gongzhe, all three of them being from Guangdong, and Yao Chanbo of Zhejiang, they called upon Huo to publicly promote Chinese martial arts in order to rouse and strengthen the masses. Huo likewise wished to publicly share his secret family art, Mizong Boxing, and so Lu, Chen, and Yao worked to accumulate funds and recruit aspiring youths, and they established the Jingwu Association in Shanghai.
　　Since that moment, branch schools opened in dozens of regions and Jingwu membership rose into the tens of thousands. Thanks to excellent organizational skills, the gathering of highly talented people, and maintaining an undistracted focus (“no smoking or drinking, no discussion of religion or politics”), Chinese martial arts at last experienced a revival. A group of Jingwu representatives was then sent to the capital to present the government with three requests:
　　1. Take back the right to host the National Games, the previous Games [1910, held in Nanjing, and 1914, held in Beijing] having been hosted by foreigners, a blow to our national prestige, and add a martial arts competition to it, complete with titles for the winners: 1st place – a “scholar”; 2nd place – a “warrior”; 3rd place – a “hero”.
　　2. Order that these skills passed down through the generations are now to be referred to throughout the nation as “guoshu” [national arts, as opposed to merely “wushu” (martial arts)].
　　3. Make Jingwu a national institution.
　　After many such meetings, the first two items were accepted [though the results of this were apparently years apart, China hosting for the first time with the 3rd Games, held in Wuchang in 1924, and the first to include any martial arts competition being the 5th Games, held in Nanjing in 1933 (the categories being: forms [empty hand, long weapon, short weapon], sparring, and shuaijiao)], but the third item could not be accepted, despite the eloquence of the delegation, because the government decided to establish its own state-run organization for promoting Chinese martial arts nationally, adopting the name from the second item – calling it the “Guoshu Institute” [established in Nanjing in 1928]. However, the success of the delegation was not dependent on bringing glory to the Jingwu name. Getting the government itself to participate in the promoting of Chinese martial arts was an entirely satisfactory result.
　　Twenty years after this event, Lu Weichang and I chatted about it in a teahouse. I remarked: “The government authorities at that time sure found it hard to accept that third item.” Lu replied: “That’s because there were more Jingwu members than there were party members, so they were afraid the zeal of our ambition in those days might make our movement eclipse the influence of the government.” I then asked: “Knowing they probably wouldn’t go for it anyway, why raise the issue in the first place?” He smiled and said: “You’re still young, so you don’t quite see it: it was so we could get the first two! Those items would’ve had no chance if we asked for them on their own, but that third item being so outrageous made the first two look reasonable.” I think that in addition to succeeding with the first two items, the Guoshu Institute owing its existence to the impassioned urging of the Jingwu delegation is some remarkable icing on the cake.
　　I began teaching right when our martial arts renaissance was at its peak. In addition to the many Jingwu locations available in various provinces and cities, everywhere there was another Guoshu Institute popping up. Both projects were advancing together, different paths to the same goal. There were also many martial arts competitions being held, in Shanxi, Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangxi, Hunan, Wuhan, and other places. The wind was blowing our way and all felt it: “Our martial prowess is on the rise.” The army began hiring martial arts instructors to train soldiers in unarmed combat, bayonet fighting, and large saber methods. In battles such as Shanhai Pass [Jan 1—3, 1933], Xifengkou Pass [Mar 12—24, 1933], and the Battle of Shanghai [Aug—Nov, 1937], our nation had inferior equipment and yet surprised that formidable foe equipped with modern weapons by confronting him with an indomitable might.
　　The Japanese invasion was a chaos of war that lasted eight years. China’s beautiful tapestry of mountains and rivers was turned into ugly battlefields. Rape, pillage, slaughter – tens of millions suffered. Both the Guoshu Institute and the Jingwu Association were of course erased from the land during that time. Thirty years later, Jingwu has been resurrected and continues in Shanghai, but nowhere else in mainland China as far as I have heard. Outside the mainland, it goes on in places like Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea. Although new schools can be established pretty quickly, fully restoring the Jingwu spirit still needs more time.
　　In recent years, martial arts novels have been flooding bookstalls, and kungfu movies are now so numerous that there is no way anyone could ever see them all. Is this what a revival of Chinese martial arts is supposed to look like? I say: hell no. The authors of martial arts fiction often make their books instructive in the classical ideals of loyalty, filiality, mercy, and justice, but most readers just dismiss these aspects as old-fashioned. The old ways then get pushed aside for the sake of new fashion, absurd feats of skill such as “he collapses the mountain to extinguish the volcano”, “sending a wind from his palm that blows down trees”, or “leaping over an abyss a thousand strides wide in a single bound” – all designed to dazzle.
　　Those who know that these kinds of things are not supposed to be taken literally are able to see that it all amounts to nothing more than escapist fantasy to pleasurably pass the time. But for impressionable youngsters who have not yet matured to a level of discernment about reality, when they go into a school to ask for lessons, expecting what they find to be like those books, they end up hugely disappointed. This is a way to wreck the whole project of promoting the art to potential students before we can even start explaining anything to them. The tricks of modern photography are amazingly clever. When making a movie that shows supernatural abilities, special effects are used to achieve this, with the result that a whole generation of ignorant youths think that such nonsense is real, the same problem as those dreadful novels all over again.
　　Also in recent years, many new styles have appeared. Every existing martial art was of course created by somebody, but one must first go through a period of fully immersed concentration, of arduous study, passing through a process of guidance from wise teachers, in order to become capable of having legitimate self-realizations about such skills. Whether we are looking at China or the West, Japan or Thailand, and so on, we can see that they have all gone through the same steps to create their own martial arts. In our case, many of our inventors come up with clever pretexts to claim that what they have made up should indeed be categorized among the rest of Chinese martial arts, or they pin some modern name to it, like “Something Something Do” [clearly winking at Jeet Kune Do], and people’s ideas about these arts get subtly shifted… shifted… shifted, until finally everyone ends up forgetting what the real traditions even were.
　　I did not plan to keep talking about these issues after retiring, but after more than forty years of devotion to martial arts, I urgently advise those who are intent upon creating their own styles, giddy with grand plans and personal ambitions: please try to have consideration for the prestige of these traditions, to preserve at least some of the authentic skills and authentic spirit, and then there might still be hope for the future of Chinese martial arts. Otherwise, owing to a generation of narcissists who just want to call themselves “founders”, “masters”, “grandmasters”, our martial arts will be so utterly wrecked that there will be nothing left of them at all. Thinking about this makes me want to throw my pen across the room and sigh in despair.
　　There are also those who actually think that new concepts and new trends are somehow wonderful weapons for clearing the field of old concepts and old ideas. [The text here uses 舊思想 for “old ideas”, making this an obvious dig at the Cultural Revolution, with its policy of eliminating the “Four Olds”, in which the stunningly shortsighted communists set out to deliberately destroy “舊思想 old ideas, 舊文化 old culture, 舊風俗 old customs, and 舊習慣 old habits”, the loss of which effectively amounts to a nation committing suicide. Huang’s fear of a similar cultural revolution within Chinese martial arts would lead to the same message: it would never be worth it, because it would lose far more of value than it would gain.] They are obsessed and excited only about new things, and yet our martial arts are already old things. How can anyone presume to claim that his martial skills are superior to those of previous generations?
　　When such a martial arts teacher starts his own school, he makes full use of his master’s fame in order to establish himself in society, but then once his business has become at all secure, he does not hesitate to start criticizing his master, even slandering the style he inherited, and then he starts his own style so that he can proclaim himself a “grandmaster”. This kind of behavior, which corrupts martial arts as a whole, destroying both martial tradition and martial virtue, happens all the time. If this is allowed to go on, how will our ancient and glorious martial arts get handed down to future generations? Having already disrespected his master while still alive, fighting over the man’s grave after he is dead will not make up for it. There is a pertinent anecdote that spread after the end of the war against the Japanese:
　　A famous master had died defending his country early in the war. Since his disciples had become scattered to various places, it fell to some friends to pool together the funeral expenses and they had him buried hastily in a public cemetery. Returning home after the war was over, two of his disciples argued over which one was responsible for looking after the grave site. The argument turned into a dispute about which one had received the genuine transmission, scolding each other for the particular gaps in what he had been taught. They then went from arguing to fighting. This subsequently became a scandal in the newspapers, making them both a laughingstock within the martial arts community and turning their master’s school into an embarrassment.
　　This is just like an old saying: “Failing to support parents while alive, making useless offerings in front of their tablets after they are dead.” We can adjust this to: “Failing to respect the master while alive, fighting pointlessly over his grave after he is dead.” I offer a piece of advice to young martial artists who behave this way, in the form of a folk saying: “water dripping from the eaves” [representing continuity of tradition through the generations], meaning that if you are not filial, how can you expect your children and grandchildren to be filial to you?
　　In conclusion, though it may sound somewhat sentimental and old-fashioned, I want you to let go of supernatural fantasies and instead pick up fallen martial virtue, all strive together, and hoist our dilapidated martial arts into a realm of unstoppable resurgence! Although I am retiring from the martial arts community, I will still burn incense and pray for its success.

–

同學會　謝清洲
OUR ALUMNI CLUB by Xie Qingzhou

「同學會」顧名思義是用作同學間聯絡聚集的會所。有同學會之設當首推學校，因學校學生人數衆多，有班別不同而不認識，有結業後往外國留學，有出外往謀生計，漸漸形成很多同一學校的同學有見面而不相識之現象，説出來才知大家是同學，這豈非笑話麼，是以有設立「同學會」之需要。其好處能增進各新舊同學之互相認識，並得悉在海外同學之情況。對學術上亦有很大的幫助，遇有疑難時各同學能參加己見，互相學習，同學間之感情亦由此增進，建立起堅固的友誼。
國術界雖然有悠久的歷史，但歷來都是以師兄弟作為稱呼，並用此作聯繫性之組織，形成國術之進展緩慢。國術界有「同學會」之設立與及同門互相以同學作稱呼者，相信首倡於吾師黃氏。早在卅年前已經設有「港九螳螂拳同學會」，近年來又設分會於美國，為「旅美螳螂拳同學會」。由於吾師早歲時除擔任精武敎職外，並任敎於多間學校及社團，螳螂拳同學會之設立，便是受此影響力而產生。
今日國術界之各家各派均有「同學會」之設，更加證實「同學會」有助於改進國術界之前途，此亦吾師首倡之功也。
The Alumni Club is as the name suggests: a club where fellow students can gather and connect with each other. All the best schools nowadays have set up an alumni club. Because there is such a large number of students, many will end up in different classes and never meet each other, some will leave right after graduating to continue their studies abroad, and others will go abroad to make a living. A situation gradually develops in which students in the same school may see each other frequently and yet never get to know each other, sometimes not even aware that they are fellow students unless they are told. This situation is too sad, and thus there is a need for an alumni club. It is an excellent means for newer students and older students to get to know each other, and to hear news of overseas students. It is also of tremendous benefit for learning the art, exposing you to unique insights from other students that may help you with your own difficulties, which increases a sense of fondness for your fellow students, leading to lasting friendships.
　　Throughout the long history of the martial arts community, students have referred to each by such titles as “elder brother” and “younger brother”, the bond between them formed by formality. But this has gradually changed. I’m convinced that the trend of having an alumni club, and with it the equalizing effect of fellow students switching to calling each other simply “classmate”, began with Master Huang. As early as thirty years ago, he established the Hong Kong-Kowloon Mantis Boxing Alumni Club. In recent years, more branches have been formed, even giving rise to a Chinese-Living-in-America Mantis Boxing Alumni Club. Because Master Huang went beyond teaching for the Jingwu Association, teaching also for many other schools and organizations already early in his career, the forming of Mantis Boxing alumni clubs was a natural result of his influence. Now every kind of martial arts school has its own alumni club, indicating just how valuable such clubs are for the future of martial arts, and all thanks to Master Huang.

–

黃師漢勛與近四十年來之國術運動　黃漢超
MASTER HUANG HANXUN & THE LAST FORTY YEARS OF MARTIAL ARTS EXERCISE by Huang Hanchao

（一）引論
1. Introduction

國術之有現代化之組織，當始自霍元甲先生手創之精武體育會。元甲天津人，値庚子拳變之役（一九〇〇），於當時之無知愚民，從事所謂「神拳」者，痛心疾首，且感強鄰環繞，為禦外侮，非從強國強種入手不可。乃發願以純正拳術，敎授國人。宣統二年（一九一〇），建會於華洋雜處，工商業發達之上海，廣聘名師，詳定課程，推行壽人壽世之新武化敎學，自武術史言，此為有系統有精神之私家興學也。（註一）
（一）「新武化」一詞，為精武同志所習知，亦為當時立會諸人所欲推行之武學敎育也。精武前輩盧煒昌著有「新武化我的拳術意見百則」一書，成於一九二三年，絕版多時，至一九五五年，始由黃漢勛師重為刋行，以廣流布。有關精武體育會之完整歷史，參閱黃漢勛「三十年精武見聞錄」，連載於陳勁（我是山人）。主編之武術小説王卷十一——十七（一九五三——五四）
Modern organizations for Chinese martial arts began with Huo Yuanjia’s founding of the Jingwu Athletic Association. Huo was from Tianjin and witnessed the Boxer Rebellion. The ignorant people of those days practiced what was called “Supernatural Boxing”, willing to be taken in by such nonsense because of their desperation, feeling that they were being surrounded by powerful conquering nations. Understanding that there is no way to truly resist foreign aggression except through the principle of “strengthen the nation by strengthening the people”, Huo thereafter vowed to teach his countrymen genuine martial arts.
　　In 1910, the Jingwu Association was established in an area of Shanghai where Chinese people and foreigners lived among each other, where industry and commerce were flourishing. A broad range of famous masters were hired and a comprehensive curriculum was developed, focused on the revitalization of our martial arts to become a form of education that would bring longevity to each and to all. A radical moment in Chinese martial arts history, this was the public sharing of the structure and spirit of a family’s secret tradition.
　　(Note: The phrase “revitalization of our martial arts” was used by Jingwu colleagues when the Association started as a way to express their wish to promote the teaching of martial arts. Jingwu elder Lu Weichang wrote a book called My Hundred Thoughts on the Revitalization of Our Martial Arts in 1923. It later went out of print for a long time until Master Huang republished it in 1955 in order to spread the material more widely. Jingwu Association history can be studied in Master Huang’s Things Witnessed Throughout Three Decades at Jingwu, which was published in serialized form by Chen Jin, also known as Mr. Hermit, within Chinese Boxing Magazine, volumes 11–17, 1953–55.)

精武會之發揚暢順，非元甲所及見，蓋建會二年而霍先生歿。幸賴霍先生之精神感召，得社會人士之支持；復得策劃會務諸君如盧君煒昌，陳君鐵笙，姚君蟾伯及陳君公哲等之不斷努力，從事刋印精武技擊叢刋，精武會刋，宣揚武術；或派員到通都大邑（曾一度至南洋）作公開表演，介紹中外體育用具，極力提倡兼用，並將拳術原理、學用詳為解釋。故自建會二十年間，國術運動為之一新，精武分會之設立，多至五十餘處，成績卓著，後為政府設立中央國術館之借鏡，而國術運動亦成為一時代潮流。
中央國術館設立於民國十六年（一九二七）北伐成功後，館設於南京，漸次推行各省、市、縣以至區、村、鄕均設國術館。目的在提倡國術，增進全民健康，並編著國術圖書等。以政府之提倡及獎勵，國術運動之蓬勃，為前古所未有，而國術亦列為全國運動之一項目。（註二）
（二）有關中央國術館之組織及館規，商務印書館曾印有一小冊子，惜手邊無其書，茲所引用者，見吳圖南著國術槪論（一九三九，商務），頁一一六——二六。
Huo did not get to witness the great success of the Jingwu Association. He died just two years after it started. Fortunately, he set an example that inspired others to carry on his mission, the Association fulfilling its purpose superbly thanks to the ceaseless efforts of people such as Lu Weichang, Chen Tiesheng, Yao Chanbo, and Chen Gongzhe. They went steps further to promote martial arts by publishing the Jingwu Book Series and the Jingwu Journal, by sending representatives out to cities to give public demonstrations, even to the nations in the South Sea, by introducing people to the uses of both Chinese and Western training equipment, and by presenting comprehensive analysis of martial arts theory.
　　Within twenty years since the Jingwu Association began, the guoshu movement was underway. Jingwu had established more than fifty branch locations and cemented an eminent reputation. Following their lead, the nationalist government then established the Central Guoshu Institute and the guoshu movement became the new trend right alongside them. The Central Guoshu Institute was established in Nanjing in 1927, following upon the success of the Northern Expedition. Branch institutes gradually appeared everywhere, extending to all provinces, cities, counties, even reaching to the level of districts, towns, villages. Its purpose was to promote Chinese martial arts, improve the health of the people, and produce martial arts manuals. With endorsement and encouragement coming from the government itself, our martial arts flourished to a greater extent than at any point since ancient times, even becoming officially recognized as a national sport.
　　(Note: A small booklet presenting the organizing principles and rules of the Central Guoshu Institute was published by Commercial Press. This material was later reproduced as the fifth chapter of Wu Tunan’s General Discussion of Chinese Martial Arts, also published by Commercial Press, 1939.)

國術運動在積極推進中，公私國術團體，培養不少人材。以今日論之，承先啓後各門派之拳師，多成就於七，七抗戰（一九三七）以前。蓋時局較為安定，武林名宿，應精武會及中央國術館之聘及私家設館敎授者頗多，能肆力於其業；況經政府提倡，武術界之出路，寖寖乎幾駕文科之上，故學者亦安心習之。自抗戰以還，國術團體之受重大打擊，與文化機關同遭刦運，其存維繫乎一線者，端賴有志之士矢志不渝，發揚國粹者之不斷奮鬥，國術始得再為發揚，延其命脈。而吾師黃漢勛先生為承先啓後，闡揚國術，推動武化運動不遺餘力之巨擘焉。
The guoshu movement was a vigorous push forward, propelling many public and private martial arts groups into being, and cultivating many talented practitioners. But it is clear to us today that most of the development within every system and style was brought to an end when the Japanese invaded and war began – July 7, 1937. During the stable years before that, there were a great many masters employed by the Jingwu Association and the Guoshu Institute, as well as many private schools, and they were able to excel in their profession. Due to the government’s fervent endorsement, the martial arts community became awash with incredible employment opportunities, gradually even surpassing those of the liberal arts fields, and students were able to blissfully take it for granted that such material was readily available for them to study.
　　However, martial arts organizations were hit hard by the war, as were all other cultural institutions. Keeping these arts alive has since depended entirely on noble individuals who vowed to never give up, committing fully to the unceasing struggle to carry forward our cultural essence, providing a lifeline so that it may endure. My teacher, Master Huang Hanxun, is a monumental figure who links us to that remarkable past by spreading our traditional martial arts, keeping the revitalization movement alive.

（二）漢勛師之國術運動言論
2. Understanding the Revitalization Movement Through Master Huang’s Own Words

漢勛師出身於旨在改良國術、剷除封建思想之精武會；除得山東蓬萊羅光玉老師悉心傳授流行北方已近三百年之螳螂拳外，更得與精武前輩耆宿等抵掌論學，深覺推行國術運動之有益於人，有助於國也。由授拳而今，已四十年矣，其敎授宗旨，一本精武會所定之成規，緊守崗位，四十年如一日。一九三五年曾北上漢口精武服務；抗戰興起，南囘淸會，而致力於香港精武會三十餘年，其中尤以復員後對港會之慘淡經營，維持精武國術聲譽之不替，極得精武同人及武術界之稱道。於授拳行醫之餘，更致力寫作，醫學而言，有跌打骨科學一書（與陳海儔合著），在館中敎授跌打講義，早已梓行。拳術言論諸書，則假定以一百種為目標，（見梅花手拳卷首序言），已刋行老三十餘種，寫就講義或已攝成照片而未印行老又三十餘種。其在武術刋物，或精武特刋及報章所已發表之專稿而未輯印老又近十餘種。則百種之數，所距非遙。其立志之大，魄力之宏，實事求是，宗旨純正，求諸武術史，實未多聞。
漢勛師立論之有關國術界者，見於其所著之螳螂拳術闡秘，螳螂拳術隨筆，螳螂拳術隨筆續集，螳螂拳講座及三十年精武見聞錄等，對拳械技術上之理論則見於搏擊闡要上下篇及散見於已刋之螳螂拳械專籍中。所陳言論，皆為經驗積累，身經力行之傑作；或長思推研，千錘百煉之結晶。漢超譾陋，未能於此短文中抉發無遺，今謹摭其尤要者三事而論之，一曰國術師資之培養；二曰對古往今來武術界之箴砭；三曰對習拳者之勸戒。
凡稍習拳棒之技者，皆知拳術為口耳傳授，亦可謂之「耳提面命」之學。徒知舞手投足，揮刀弄棒而不知其長短有度，虛實分明，剛柔互濟者，猶搖筆作文而不知起承轉合之節，陽剛陰柔之法。者拳術而論，較文事尤難：如排氣揷沙，非身歷不知其苦；或刀劍對練，一招一式，其長短快慢不能誤者，否則招致無謂損傷。是以國術師資，除具有優良之技術外，尚須通達拳理，妙解器械，更兼具武德，比猶論史者之必具史學、史識、史才兼史德，始克稱良史也，然如何始能培養一良好國術師資？必也先受嚴格之訓練。名師授徒，各有其法，如岳武穆之訓士，戚南塘之練兵皆是。其有集諸名師於一堂，從容討論，泯門戶之見，共尋拳術眞理者，以精武會為先河也。漢勛師言：
（三）黃漢勛、螳螂拳術隨筆（以下簡稱隨筆），（一九五一），頁八「國術師資的養成」。
Master Huang Hanxun’s background was formed at the Jingwu Association. The purpose of that organization was to reform martial arts by getting rid of the feudalistic attitude of keeping knowledge secret. Therefore beyond absorbing the meticulous instruction of Master Luo Guangyu in the three-hundred-year-old northern art of Mantis Boxing, he also received the enthusiastic wisdom of Jingwu elders, giving him a deep instinct to promote the guoshu movement in order to benefit the people and help the nation. He has by now been teaching martial arts for forty years. His method of instruction is based in the standards established by the Jingwu Association, which he has consistently adhered to throughout that time.
　　In 1935, Huang went north to teach at the Hankou Jingwu Association. But then when the war with Japan began, he returned south and devoted himself to the Hong Kong Jingwu Association for more than thirty years. After the war, the Association struggled to keep going, but he helped preserve the prestige of Jingwu, earning him high regard from Jingwu colleagues and the martial arts community as a whole.
　　In addition to teaching martial arts and practicing medicine, he has also devoted himself to writing about these things. As for medicine, he co-authored The Science of Treating Bone Injuries with Chen Haizhuo, published 1956, explaining in detail the injury medicine that is taught in his school. As for his many martial arts books, he said in his preface to Plum Blossom Hands that his goal is to make a hundred of them. He has so far published more than thirty, containing textual explanations and photos or drawings, but there are at least thirty more that are still unpublished. Factoring in the articles he has contributed to martial arts magazines, special Jingwu publications, and newspapers, which would probably add up to another dozen or so volumes, and then the total is getting pretty close to a hundred.
　　He has great determination and boldness, and yet he somehow keeps himself from getting carried away, adamantly seeking reality over fantasy, aiming always for the real stuff, an approach that has been all too rare throughout martial arts history. Master Huang’s commentary on the martial arts community can be found within his Secrets of the Mantis Boxing Art, Notes on the Mantis Boxing Art, Mantis Boxing Lectures, and Things Witnessed Throughout Three Decades at Jingwu. His theories about the boxing and weapon skills can be found within his Essentials of Fighting, and of course numerous manuals presenting each of the practice sets in detail.
　　His books are all masterpieces built of accumulated experience and diligent physical training, the crystallization of a great deal of thought and experimentation. I am not a skillful enough writer to reveal a complete portrait of him in so short an essay, so I will only highlight three of his key traits: 1. his deep concern about the proper cultivation of qualified instructors, 2. his forthright criticism of the martial arts community, both past and present, 3. and his directness when correcting students.
　　Anyone who has practiced a martial art at all, whether unarmed skills or weapons, is aware that it is something that is taught in person, face to face. Those who only know how to dance around with their bodies or swinging weapons mindlessly, but are ignorant of the specific strengths and weaknesses of using the hands or feet, short weapons or long weapons, or the distinction between feints and real techniques, or the concept of hardness and softness complementing each other, are like writers of compositions who do not know about the proper dividing of an essay into its four sections of introduction, development, transition, and conclusion, or about the methods of writing with masculine strength and feminine suppleness. However, practicing martial arts is far more difficult than writing essays, with its panting exertion and its iron-palm conditioning. Without personally experiencing it, you will have no idea how much hard work it all is.
　　When sparring with swords, every action has to be accurate in terms of distance and timing, otherwise there will be unnecessary injuries. Therefore in addition to possessing excellent skill, a martial arts teacher also needs to have a thorough understanding of boxing theory, an exquisite knowledge of weapons, and a strong sense of martial virtue. This is similar to the way that historians have to be well equipped with scholarship, insight, talent, and morality in order to be considered good historians.
　　How then to cultivate a good martial arts teacher? He must first undergo a demanding course of training. Famous teachers all have their teaching methods, as did Yue Fei and Qi Jiguang when they each trained their troops. What is needed is to gather together noteworthy teachers and have them all discuss authentic principles of martial arts without any silly bias over styles. That work began with the Jingwu Association, as described by Master Huang (excerpt from “On the Cultivating of Martial Arts Teachers” – Notes on the Mantis Boxing Art, 1951):

各國敎育史上，均有師範學校之設立，日趨正軌而另開一新頁，不若以前之師承為大病，惟國術一道，數千年來未曾一改故態，有之亦以精武會為先河而已。………其顯著者如剷除門戶之成見，以增進大同公有之旨；設立師範班，………六年高級之後，始可加入受嚴格訓練，期雖二年，皆得良好効果。期滿選其優異者，分派各地分會服務，………數月或一年，則又分別調動，務使各員皆有更多之見聞，由此可知前賢之苦心矣。（註三）
Physical education has entered a new era because of the standardized training of teachers. This is not intended as an accusation that teachers in previous eras were doing anything wrong. The issue is that martial arts training had become stuck in its ways for many centuries. The first step in the modern approach was when Huo Yuanjia established the Jingwu Association.
　　The goal was to improve Chinese martial arts, most notably by eliminating prejudice between styles in order to give these arts directly to the public, and also by instituting a standard teacher-training program: completing the beginner level after two years, the intermediate level after four years, the advanced level after six years, followed by rigorous specialized training. Two-year stages seemed to give the best results. At the end of this process, the best of the best were selected and sent to teach in the branch schools under strict supervision. Based on their performance within a year’s time, they were transferred to other locations, thereby furthering their knowledge and experience. This shows how much hard work was put into these arts by previous generations.

以今日眼光度之，習拳者求在最短時間內獲最高技術，無可厚非也。其有專求速成者或曰百日，或曰一、二年，亦均無不可也，蓋指普通習技者耳。惟培養一良好師資，則決非在一、二年內可得之事。精武所定師範章程，配合人力、物力，故能為近三四十年國術界生根立命。惜此良佳辦法，於民廿一年以後停頓，漢勛師於此不勝慨歎，故以其極懇摯態度，向國術界進言曰：
（四）左上。
（五）黃漢勛、螳螂拳術隨筆續集（以下簡稱隨筆續集），（一九五五），頁十二，「睡獅醒乎？」又參閱其所著白猿出洞（螳螂拳術叢書第二十二種）（一九五八），卷首，「談國術之興衰」。
The modern standard has become this: practitioners seek to obtain the highest skill level in the shortest amount of time. This is a perfectly reasonable ambition. All ordinary practitioners can enter into an accelerated training program and achieve a decent level in just a few months, or a year or two. However, it is not possible to cultivate a good teacher within only a couple of years.
　　The Jingwu Association established their teaching-training program as a partnership between individual effort and group-provided facilities, enabling a student to grow into a teacher who would go on to become a valuable part of the martial arts community after a matter of decades, not mere years. Alas, this superb method stopped being used in 1932. Endlessly frustrated by the loss of it, Master Huang confronted the martial arts community with these earnest words (again from “On the Cultivating of Teachers”, followed by an excerpt from “Will the Sleeping Lion Awake?” – Further Notes on the Mantis Boxing Art, 1955):

近人之對國術運動有七八年賡續力者已難得，在七八年中又能循規按程，埋頭苦練者更如鳳毛麟角，對技術上之認識及傳授方法之統一，難乎其難也。……今日國術在不絕如縷之情形下，更缺乏此堅強之師資，將來國術之命運，惟付之於天而已。（註四）
It is difficult to find people nowadays who have even practiced martial arts for seven or eight years, much less seven or eight years in a disciplined and systematic training program, and almost impossible to find practitioners who are both knowledgeable in the skills and well-versed in teaching methods. Our martial arts are now in a precarious situation due to a lack of good teachers, with the result that the fate of these arts has been rather cowardly left in God’s hands.
又曰：國術已至衰微之時，尚不萬衆一心，急起挽救於垂危，吾不敢斷國術尚能持續於若干年也。吾非無病呻吟，諸君試留心之便可知余言之不謬也。（註五）
Our martial arts are already in decline, and yet somehow there is no unanimous haste to save them from destruction. I will not dare to give up on these arts, for I believe they can indeed continue for many years to come. Do not dismiss my observations about the situation as mere complaining. Think about it and you will see that my words are not exaggerations.
　　(See also “On the Rise & Decline of Chinese Martial Arts” – White Ape Leaves the Cave, 1958.)

近十數年來，不乏提倡國術之人，其能從訓練師資而重整國術界陣容立論者，尚未多見，則漢勛師之言，宜乎提倡國術諸人資以為南針也。
師資旣採嚴格訓練，授受方法亦應有改進。蓋時代進步，社會專業分工日細，習藝者不必皆為國術敎師也。然如何始能使人了解國術之眞義，實為當前國術界一嚴重問題，漢勛師論之曰：
Since the time those essays were written, there have actually been many people promoting Chinese martial arts, but few of them have been qualified to make much of a difference in the martial arts community, and so Master Huang’s warning continues to remain relevant.
　　Teachers should undergo more rigorous training, and the training methods themselves need more improvement. Over time, any society progresses toward increased specialization, labor getting divided into particular tasks which are attended to by experts in those fields. This means that it is not necessary to expect every martial arts student to become a martial arts teacher. However, if students are not training to become teachers, a serious problem in the martial arts community is the question of how to make those students understand the true meaning of these arts. Addressing this issue, Master Huang wrote [excerpt from “The Martial Arts Community is Facing an Enormous Crisis” – Notes, 1951]:

好勇鬥狼逞能爭勝之英雄主義，在今日二十世紀科學昌明之際，逐漸消失其本來價値。………時代進化，我輩國術界份子仍不急起直追，或改善其法，增進強身健體，使之為民衆普遍之運動，使一向厭惡國術之人得切實之好感。至其使用方式亦應由繁複變為簡易，使習三年兩載者足可應付強梁而有餘。………毋再故神其説，以耗習者之時光………。苟能人人認淸時代之需要，自我反省急起直追，國術前途尚有稀微曙光，否則國術將成歷史陳跡而已，………能不痛惜哉！
The heroic ideal of proving one’s prowess by getting into fights has gradually lost its value in the twentieth century, a time in which science has become the theme of the age.
　　The times have changed and we in the current generation of the martial arts community have been slow to change with them. The methods of these arts have often been “improved” to turn them mainly into a means of building health and fitness, thereby making them a more popular form of exercise for the masses, tricking those who had previously had only contempt for martial arts into somehow developing a good opinion of them.
　　However, applications for the postures should now be changed back from overly elaborate flashy techniques to simple practical actions, so that after just a few years of practice, students can be made more than capable of dealing with attackers. A love of getting into fights should of course be treated as shameful in order to keep students on the right ethical path, but any mystical explanations are just a waste of time, leaving students with nothing to use to save themselves in an emergency even after ten years of training.
　　If everyone truly recognized the needs of the time, they would take a good hard look at themselves and what they stand for, and then perhaps our traditional martial arts would have a brighter future instead of being on the cusp of becoming mere relics of the past. I have followed in the footsteps of my Jingwu elders, standing proudly under the three-starred banner for more than twenty years. Seeing with my own eyes how desperate the situation has become, I cannot help but greatly worry for the future of our martial arts.

此從改善授受拳術方法，以健身、實用二事為目的，其不切當世需求者可置之，如長械中之戟，各種暗器如袖箭，袖鏢等。去蕪存精化繁成簡，使國術成普遍敎育，司其責者，當操於深心巨艱，通才卓識，嚴格訓練師資之士也。
漢勛師對古往今來之國術界，有其極誠摯懇切之箴砭，蓋藉此當頭棒喝以喚起從事國術運動者之注意；否則人人趨向因循苟且，則國術之衰微又再沉溺也，其箴砭之沉痛而懇切者有曰：
（六）隨筆，頁十二——十三，「眞與偽」。
This describes the need to improve teaching methods in order to make self-defense equally as important a goal as health. Parts of the tradition that are probably of less use in the modern world can be treated as extracurricular rather than required, such as very old-fashioned long weapons such as halberds or the various hidden weapons like the sleeve dart. This is an act of separating the wheat from the chaff, of discarding unnecessary complexity in favor of basic essentials, making it easier for these arts to become more widespread. The responsibility for improving the teaching methods should be given to those who think the deepest and work the hardest, who have the most experience and the greatest wisdom, and who will forge the most qualified teachers by putting them through the most rigorous training.
　　Master Huang expresses a forthright criticism of the martial arts community, both past and present, in order to wake practitioners up. They otherwise tend to slip into habits of practicing more and more mindlessly, which only contributes to the decline of these arts. A sense of both the grief and sincerity in his criticism can be found in passages such as this (excerpt from “Real Versus Fake” – Notes, 1951):

國術乃實際之學術，非向此中痛下功夫者難望其有所成就。世有不少專以不經常見之「古怪」器械到處表演，卻又自詡為稀有之絕技；演時繪形繪色以討好觀衆，毋乃為有識之士所齒冷！蓋吾人習武之唯一宗旨，乃為求得眞正之藝術，與夫符合強身之道為原則，至欲博取浮名者，豈非舞台小丑之不如耶！（註六）
Martial arts are supposed to be a practical field of study. Without going through the hardship of training, it is difficult to expect to get anything meaningful out of it. There are quite a few people who perform with uncommonly seen “archaic” weapons just so that they can then brag that they have a “rare” skill. They may perform with artistic and expressive motions in order to appeal to ordinary spectators, but they draw scorn from knowledgeable people.
　　We who practice martial arts have one goal: to obtain genuine skill, and to do so in such a way that it conforms to proper principles of improving one’s health. As for a desire to gain an empty reputation, how would that make you any better than a clown on a stage?

欲求虛浮無根之病也，以國術為實際之學術，卽明虛偽者之無取焉。若徒以不經常見之器械或謬説如「一掌擊人於數丈外者」自欺欺人，則國術可得不衰？欲藥此病，先從敎者以身作則做起，故：
（七）仝上書，頁十，「拳師應有的豐度」。
This is the error of seeking the superficial. A martial art is supposed to be a practical study, and so you have to be able to discern when things are nonsense that will waste your time. If you get obsessed with exotic weapons or seduced by exaggerations like “launching him dozens of feet away with a single palm strike”, you will only be fooling yourself and others, contributing to the further decline of martial arts. To correct this error, find a teacher who sets the right example. Master Huang has this to say about how teachers should be setting an example (excerpt from “On the Demeanor that Teachers Ought to Have” – Notes, 1951):

拳師者為武技上之導師而已，………豈以威脅人始可得人尊崇耶？為人導師非祗以技術傳人便完責任，必須以身作則，規己律人，然後方可維數千年歷史之武化而不替，否則縱有其驚人藝術，但道德觀點蕩然無存，此法豈可傳後世乎？（註七）
A martial arts teacher is simply an instructor in martial skills, but intimidating others will not gain him respect. To be a genuine teacher, he is not only responsible for passing on his skills, he also has to set an example of proper conduct. Only in this way will he prevent thousands of years of martial tradition from being discarded. Despite having amazing skill, if he has no moral sense at all, the authentic art will not get passed down.

此主張敎者之武德武術應並重，無偏無陂，始克盡導師之能事也。苟敎者之能盡術德並重之責，而學者亦抱有尊師重道之任，則國術界不少無謂紛爭，將澌滅於無形，蓋：
（八）隨筆續集，頁五，「無題」。
This is a declaration that there should be equal importance given to martial virtue and martial skill, not an over-emphasis on either, in order for a teacher be truly qualified to teach. If teachers can give equal importance to virtue and skill, and students can give proper respect to the teacher and the teachings, then most of the disputes within the martial arts community, as described below, would vanish (excerpt from “On the Survival of Chinese Martial Arts” – Further Notes, 1955):

拳術界之互不相讓及互相攻許者多半出自派別及嫡傳問題！甲派除自詡技術如何高超外復大加譭謗乙派，或師兄自命正統嫡傳，並譭師弟為非嫡傳者，或其徒稍可立足於社會則譭其師為老而無能。於是國術便陷於友不友，兄不兄，弟不弟，師不師，徒不徒之境矣。苟如是吾人何以對得前人創技設敎之艱難？將何以作下一代之楷模？（註八）
In the martial arts community, the various styles do not accept each other and instead attack each other. Most of the time, it comes down to issues of which school is superior and which style is the true interpretation. One school sings its own praises while condemning another school, praising and condemning with equal exaggeration. Or an older student proclaims himself the true inheritor of a system, denigrating a younger student for “not possessing the authentic transmission”. Or a student manages to get himself somewhat established as a teacher by slandering his own teacher as being too old and no longer capable of representing the art.
　　Our martial arts are therefore bogged down in a situation in which friends are not behaving like friends, brothers not behaving like brothers, teachers not like teachers, students not like students. In this way, respect is not being paid to previous generations for all their hard work in creating these arts and developing methods to pass on their teachings. Nor is a good example being set for the next generation of students.

國術界之倫理，忽畧之者多矣；為前人創技設敎，為下一代作楷模，眞仁人之心，閱之者能無感乎？
漢勛師旣主敎者須以身作則，律己恕人，從事實際國術敎學，其對學者亦有殷切之勸戒。蓋時下習技者常犯濫學少練之病，濫則不專，少練則不精，不專不精，無補於實學也。其影響所及，不盡個人，而及於國術界。其言有曰：
（九）黃漢勛、白猿偷桃（螳螂拳術叢書第二十三種），（一九五八），卷首「螳螂國術學院第十一屆畢業禮演講詞」。
Alas, the martial arts community tends to forget about martial virtue. Respect not being paid to previous generations for their hard work, nor a good example being set for the next generation of students – for those of us who genuinely feel, this makes us downright hurt.
　　When Master Huang started teaching, he knew he had to set an example, that he had to exhibit self-discipline in order to expect others to practice with discipline as well. Because he was teaching martial arts as a practical skill, he was also very direct when correcting students. Modern students often make the mistake of trying to learn too much and practicing too little. Learning too much means you are not focusing on anything. Practicing too little means you are not developing any skill. If you are neither focusing nor skill-building, there is nothing at all that will help you gain real knowledge. Alas, the poisonous influence of this behavior does not stop with just a few individuals who witness it, but can infect the entire martial arts community. Master Huang wrote these pertinent words (excerpt from “Speech from the 11th Graduation Ceremony of the Mantis Guoshu Institute” – White Ape Steals a Peach, 1958):

心躁氣浮，為練拳術者之大忌，此一點使學者好為人師外，更阻礙拳術進步。………拳術之道，易得易失，不經體驗，不知其中痛癢，………是待學者之善學而後國術有救正之可言。（註九）
A martial arts practitioner is not allowed to have an impetuous mind and distracted temperament. That kind of thing is an even bigger hindrance to making progress than wanting to hurry up and be a teacher… Martial arts methods are easy to obtain and easy to lose. Unless you go through the experience, you will have no idea of the ordeals within the training… Only when the student has learned how to learn will he then be of use in rescuing our martial arts.

故「學多而不能練，曷若學少而多練」（註十），乃時下練拳術者之金科玉律也。試環觀世界各地之有拳術比賽而所用之搏擊方式，跡近中國拳術者，彼輩所習之拳套不多，而專練或「死練」其鈎攔格殺之式以應敵。人人習之式幾千遍一律，賽事中惟稍快者操左券，惜多畧於變化，有衝進之勇氣而乏靈活之轉側閃躱，此為其弊耳。然可證學少而多練之有實用價値也。若乎聰明才智、好學而勤練之士，應負發揚國術之責也。漢勛師嘗有求師難、求徒更難之論調，其言有曰：
（十）隨筆續集，頁二十五，「濫學等如負債」。
（十一）隨筆，頁六，「求師難求徒更難」。
The golden rule for modern martial arts practitioners is (quoting from “Trying to Learn Too Much is Like Going into Debt” – Further Notes, 1955): “Better to learn a little and practice it a lot than to learn a lot and practice little.”
　　All over the world, there are fighting competitions and methods of training for them. Chinese martial artists typically practice boxing sets, although some give less time to practicing sets and instead focus directly on developing “deadly skills”, working on a variety of particular actions for dealing with opponents. All practitioners rehearse their techniques thousands of times, but few are clever enough to use them successfully in competition. This is because many practitioners make the mistake of overlooking the need for adaptability. For instance, they may have the courage to charge forward, but lack the nimbleness to turn and evade. This demonstrates the practical value of the principle of “learn a little and practice it a lot”.
　　Practitioners who are intelligent and talented, dedicated to both study and training, ought to be the ones to bear the duty of promoting Chinese martial arts. Master Huang wrote an essay called “Hard to Find the Right Teacher, Even Harder to Find the Right Student”, in which he said this (excerpt from “Hard to Find the Right Teacher, Even Harder to Find the Right Student” – Notes, 1951):

求徒難乎？近世之人多缺乏刻苦耐勞之精神，習技絕無最終目的，志存玩耍而已。其未得個中三昧者固比比皆是，出而招事惹非，一言不合動輒拳腳繼之，試思有徒若此亦能使國術日趨光明乎？國文、國醫、國畫、國術俱為我中華數千年歷史之國粹，惟後浪推不動前浪，致使一代不如一代，是為我國藝界之大病也。反觀歐美諸邦，不論在醫藥體育俱有一日千里之勢，此退彼進，相形之下，眞不可以道里為計也。（註十一）
On the other hand, it is extraordinarily difficult to find worthy students. This is because people nowadays often lack a hardworking spirit. Practitioners of these skills have no meaningful goal in mind, they are just playing around. So many of them are unenlightened fools, deliberately provoking trouble for the sake of it, so that at the slightest insult they can then act justified in hurling out their fists and feet. Such behavior is hardly going to make these arts more respected.
　　Chinese literature, Chinese medicine, Chinese painting, and Chinese martial arts all form the essence of our ancient culture. However, “the waves behind are not replacing the waves in front” [i.e. the new is not excelling the old, subverting the proverb “the waves behind push away the waves in front”], and as a result, the current generation is actually inferior to the one that preceded it. The arts of our nation are therefore suffering a serious illness. Europe and America are constantly making giant strides in both medicine and physical education. As our civilization retreats, theirs advances, and we are now so inadequate that we no longer even qualify for comparison.

他山之石，可以攻玉；長者之言，如苦口良藥。國術界之前途，有待於從事者之自覺，始能補前修之未備，發先人所未發也。
“Maybe the stones from other mountains will be better for carving jade.” These ancient words [from the Book of Poetry, poem 184] are a bitter pill to swallow. The future of the martial arts community is dependent upon students taking the initiative so that they can attend to the problems that previous generations did not foresee and do what previous generations did not have to do.

（三）結語
3. Conclusion

漢勛師本其四十餘年實地敎授之經驗，靜心默察，故能洞悉國術界之沉痼癥結，發而為論，莫不中的，誠為當前扶匡國術運動諸君子之借鏡也。至夫其盡心編寫螳螂拳書籍，取拳術、器械之理與法，作有系統之研究；及所作螳螂拳譜，統一各拳械之名稱，旣益今人之參習，且便來者之探索。其於螳螂拳各拳套作歸納法之研究，分析指、掌、搥、腿、步及串子手法之功用，絲絲入扣，義無餘蘊。論其成績不獨為自王朗以來，傳世三百餘年之螳螂拳功臣，抑亦為精武會興學設敎數十年下之一大結集，然皆未盡其志也。故此文特摭其有關國術前途之言論表出之。
一九七二年元旦•稿成於費城•
Based on his more than forty years of teaching experience and quiet observation, Master Huang has a thorough understanding of the martial arts community’s deeper problems and therefore always shoots his criticisms directly at the bull’s eye. He really is like a mirror being held in front of all of us to show us our flaws.
　　As for the Mantis Boxing manuals he has so lovingly written, he has turned the principles and methods of the boxing sets and weapon sets into a systematic study. He has also supplied us with a long catalogue of posture lists, providing easy access to the names of the techniques in each of the sets, a useful reference guide for modern practitioners to consult and a fascinating menu for laymen to peruse. His explanations for each technique in the sets are an inductive study, building up a clear overall pattern through an examination of details, making note of the use of fingers, palms, punches, kicks, stances, scrutinizing meticulously and neglecting nothing.
　　Not only do his accomplishments stand tall next to all the other achievements of Mantis Boxing’s three hundred years, all the way back to Wang Lang creating the art in the first place, but he has also contributed to the Jingwu Association perhaps the largest single collection of teaching materials it has had in decades, and there is still more to come. It is therefore fitting that the theme of this article is his influence upon the future of Chinese martial arts.
　　- written in Philadelphia, New Year’s Day, 1972

–

憶仲兄　漢勛
REMEMBERING MY ELDER BROTHER by Huang Hanxun

二兄漢寰體格魁梧（體重經常在百八十至百九十磅之間，在廣東人而言可稱大隻矣），好運動，尤好拳技，小從佛派大師趙吉遊，習凡兩年，將窺堂奧而半途廢，後又從羅師習螳螂拳技，又兩年而離港往婆羅州謀生。若論體力、聰明、機智余遠不及之，祗乏毅力為最大缺點。余一心一德致力於拳技不敢片刻稍懈，於是余能有四十年服務拳界之成績。仲兄曾一度被婆羅洲僑衆促請設館授拳，館雖設惟能記憶之拳械有限，未幾卽無以應衆需求。余知其隱衷乃擬往婆助之，辦理入境手續亦承當時華人代表關潤軒先生擔承；余正擬動程之際，因太平洋風雲緊急而暫緩，未幾而香港淪陷矣。
戰後仲兄重組國術社，社務至為興盛，由此乃引起某幫人士所忌，常謀對仲兄不利；余偵知其事急航告使預防暗算，蓋吾知仲兄嗜酒，恐酒後更授此輩機會也，未幾果於酒後被邀作較，幸兄祗半酒而偽作醉態，斯輩果為所貽而重創之，凡此至數次之多。吾向彼輩揚言將南遊北婆以觀彼輩究有多大能耐而屢向仲兄挑戰？吾為精武老敎練之一，而星馬精武至衆，因此彼輩亦知難而退不再麻煩仲兄矣。未幾仲兄亦棄武從商，稍有成就卽罹疾以歿，享年六十有一；遺子女各三，長者已論婚嫁，幼者亦就學，吾忝為叔父實未與各侄晤面，更未予助有愧於五中矣。
My elder brother Hanhuan had a large build (usually between a hundred eighty and a hundred ninety pounds, which is a pretty big guy for a Cantonese man). He loved athletic exercise, especially martial arts, and in his youth learned from Choy Li Fut master Zhao Jiyou. After two years of training, he gave up, just as he was on the verge of gaining a deeper understanding of the art. He then also learned Mantis Boxing from Master Luo, but again after two years he moved on from it, this time because his career took him away to Borneo.
　　In terms of physical strength, intelligence, and quick-wittedness, he completely outclassed me. His only great defect was a lack of willpower. I on the other hand have devoted myself single-mindedly to martial arts, never daring to slack for a moment, and that is why I have been able to serve the martial arts community for forty years.
　　My brother was once invited by the overseas Chinese community in Borneo to set up a school for teaching martial arts. A school was indeed established, though the curriculum that the founders were able to remember in his absence was very limited, and unfortunately he soon was unable to fulfill their request to be there at all. I know that deep down he wanted to help out the students in Borneo, and the Chinese representative in Borneo, Guan Runxuan, was even in the midst of handling his immigration process. I had planned to go out there too, but then war in the Pacific began, postponing all plans, and Hong Kong soon fell to the Japanese.
　　After the war, my brother helped to reorganize the martial arts community in Borneo, which he did so successfully that it made certain people jealous, and they thereafter frequently schemed against him. When I learned of this situation, I quickly went by boat to meet him and warn him to be on his guard against such plots. Because I was well aware that he was an alcoholic, I worried that after some drinking he would present those people with even better opportunities to work against him.
　　Sure enough, while drinking, he got challenged. He fortunately was only half drunk and pretending to be fully drunk. As a result, his challenger got seriously injured. This scenario happened to him so many times that I finally had to spread threats all over town against such upstarts in order to make any more of them hesitate to come forward to give my brother a try. Because I was by then one of the older instructors in the Jingwu Association, and thus respected by the students at the Singapore and Malaysia locations, the Borneo challengers backed off and did not bother him again.
　　Not long after this, my brother quit martial arts anyway and started a career in business. He made some slight success at it, but then suddenly became ill and died at the age of sixty-one, leaving behind his three children, the eldest about to get married, the youngest just starting school. I am completely unworthy to be their uncle, still having not yet met them face to face, still failing to live up to my duties toward them.

–

斥自我分家之不智　漢勛
CHASTISING THE FOOLISHNESS OF TRYING TO DIVIDE THE ART INTO SEPARATE STYLES by Huang Hanxun

先師自一九一九年參加精武工作以來直至南下任敎之一大段日子俱是敎螳螂拳而已！未嘗另加名堂。根據當日精武總會出版之月刋「中央」所載亦皆以「螳螂門」稱之。精武所編之「武化舞」、「滑稽舞」乃集精武所有拳派之手法組成，其中有用「崩步拳」之「引針腰斬」名曰：「切腰掌」（螳螂門、崩步拳），又用大番車名曰：「大番車手」（螳螂門、大番車拳）。
又根據「少林眞傳」內亦無類似分別門戶之記載，祗有「螳螂近」而「番車遠」，「螳螂密」而「番車速」之詳細論述，是可知螳螂門乃合拼番車門而成可無疑問也。
拳套內確有「七星」、「梅花」、「光班」之別。惟無派系岐見，今之另立標榜者實自我分離於本門究有何益？更無以對前賢創技之苦心也。
其實羅氏所傳已包括：「七星」、「梅花」、「光班」、「番車」在內，祗有學技未精、研究未通者胡言惑衆耳！其所以標榜為某派某門者試問亦知某拳屬「七星」，某拳屬「梅花」或「光班」及「番車」否？旣無所知又何必侈言門派之異！徒招武林物議，門內反感而已！又何苦來哉？
又有言螳螂十二字訣乃十二種手法，眞荒𧩙不經之論也。漢曾擅改一字卽「刁進、崩打」之崩字、原名本為「刁進、刁打。」衷心抱歉者十餘年，亦曾於拙著及散見各處報章雜誌中屢屢為文引述錯改一字，於是或可稍贖前愆也。有人以為一字之錯未必嚴重至此吧！漢則以為擅改原文而錯至一線天涯，非如此則恐貽誤後之有志研究螳螂拳藝者引為根據也。漢勛擅改時未滿四十歲，往後近二十年始發覺前失，是可知積年累月經驗之可貴矣。憑漢勛四十多年致力於一種拳術尚有此大錯，何況稍涉皮毛者乎，尤幸及時自我糾正不致終生抱憾焉。
十二字之解釋，八剛十二柔之法則，五手化二十五手，再由二十五手變成一百二十五手之構成當再另文述之。
且有學術性之文字迨非遊戲文章可比，若非有根據，有卓見者切勿信口開河，否則貽誤後學為罪至大，幸毋河漢斯言則國術昌明可期，螳螂門同人亦當感謝不盡矣。
Throughout Master Luo’s career, from the time he started teaching at the Jingwu Association in 1919 to the time he went south to teach in other locations, he always referred to his art as Mantis Boxing and nothing else, but it was often called “Mantis School” in the monthly Jingwu Magazine. Those Jingwu writers also described exercises taught there, such as “Heroic Dance”, “Jester Dance”, and so on, which were composed of actions from various martial arts taught at Jingwu. Within them appears the technique of SLICING THROUGH THE WAIST from the Avalanche Steps boxing set, though they instead called it WAIST-CUTTING PALM, as well as the signature technique of LARGE WHEELING from the Large Wheeling boxing art, which they called LARGE WHEELING HANDS. Going further back to Authentic Teachings of Shaolin, there is little discussion of differences between systems, only this: “The wheeling technique reaches far, whereas the usual Mantis techniques draw near. The wheeling technique is done with great speed, whereas the usual Mantis techniques put more emphasis on precision.” And in this case, it is clear that what is indicated is in fact a merging of the Mantis art and the Wheeling art.
　　The boxing sets all contain elements of supposedly different “styles” of Mantis: Big Dipper, Plum Blossom, and Guangban. However, without being able to know the exact distinctions between these so-called styles, there would seem to be little point in claiming some special allegiance to one more than another. It would also be unfairly dismissive of the hard work of former masters who may have contributed just as much to the art as others did. Although what Master Luo passed down contains aspects of Big Dipper, Plum Blossom, Guangban, and Wheeling Boxing, these terms are just cryptic jargon to those who are new to the art, while those who make a big deal about the different styles should be asked if they can even identify techniques that are from Big Dipper, Plum Blossom, Guangban, or Wheeling Boxing. Not really knowing what the differences are anyway, it does not make any sense to try to glorify the different styles specifically. Such pettiness leads people to roll their eyes at the martial arts community, making prospective students leave schools in disgust shortly after walking in, wondering why they bothered to come in the first place.
　　The “twelve terms” of Mantis Boxing are: [1] grab, [2] pull, [3] take, [4] hang, [5 & 6] hook and advance, [7 & 8] hook and hit, [9 & 10] stick and adhere, [11 & 12] crowd and cram. It is sometimes said that the twelve terms are twelve kinds of techniques, which is nonsense. I once decided to change “hook and advance, hook and hit” to “hook and advance, collapse and hit”, thinking I was improving it. I later decided I was wrong to do it and felt ashamed of my error for many years. My changed version had been published for all to see and was subsequently often quoted in various newspapers and magazines. I hope I can slightly redeem myself now. Most people would not consider an error of a single word to be a serious issue, but to me it feels like I have committed a sin that reaches all the way to the horizon, for I worry that I may have confused beginners in the midst of building their foundation. I was not yet forty years old when I changed that word, and now twenty years later I feel that I badly misjudged the original teaching, which I suppose shows the value of long experience bringing greater wisdom. Despite my more than forty years of devotion to this art, I am still haunted by my error, which indicates that it is perhaps not so trivial a thing after all. I hope that by correcting it now, it will cease to be a lifelong regret. As for expounding on the twelve terms, as well as the eight hardnesses and twelve softnesses, and exploring the five basic hand methods turning into twenty-five, and the twenty-five turning into a hundred twenty-five… such things deserve attention in a later article.
　　Scholarly texts are not like recreational articles. There is a need for grounded arguments, clearheaded ideas, and a lack of exaggeration. To instead write about this kind of material baselessly, frivolously, and hyperbolically [in the way of martial arts novels] would only mislead students, a great crime. As long as we take this issue seriously, our martial arts will be able to flourish, and that would make practitioners of the Mantis school grateful indeed.

–

螳螂拳術起源與系統　漢勛
THE ORIGIN & TRANSMISSION OF THE MANTIS BOXING ART by Huang Hanxun [text reused from Secrets of the Mantis Boxing Art]

朱明末葉，有山東人曰王朗者，目覩輿圖行將變色，時思獻身家國，爭奈無路請纓，因走嵩山，投少林，習拳棒術，以圖後效，及淸兵寇關，王卽隻身赴難，又迫於內奸賣國，致英雄無用武地，鼎革後，重返少林，組織僧侶，以為復國雪恥之圖，但所如輙左，尋且為淸廷偵悉內幕，下令圍焚，王與同門，展其超凡神技，保護師尊脫難，為避淸兵緝捕起見，又間關逃峨嵋，走崑崙，遍歷數省，以迄魯之勞山，遂卓錫於此，未幾師尊羽化，舉大師兄某為主持，日常與王拳棒相戲，以破岑寂，然王每為所敗，王恥之，誓三年後必勝師兄，越三年，復與師兄角，又敗，王羞慚尤甚幾欲自殺，後師兄雲遊，臨別致囑王曰：汝好好練習，吾三年便返，那時當刮目相看矣。師兄去後，一日時方盛暑，悶居陋室，百無聊賴，王乃挾劍持經，入深林避暑，抵一林，祗見淸風習習，身心俱快，正展經朗誦，忽聞虫聲唧唧，吱吱亂鳴，狀頗悲哀，仰首觀之，見一螳螂方與一蟬作殊死鬥，螳螂恃其鋒利雙臂，步步緊迫，未幾蟬遂喪生於螳螂之手，王觀畢，以螳螂進退有度，長短並施，擒蹤得法，大肖拳技功夫，因扳枝捕之返寺，朝夕以草桿戲之，卽粘，黏，崩，軋，閃，賺，騰，挪，兼而有之，王天資聰慧，不三日，頓悟螳螂之手法共十二種，卽勾，摟，採，掛，刁，進，刁，打，粘，黏，貼，靠。而貫入十七家宗法之精華，並採猴猿步法渾為一體。三載後自成一家，適師兄倦遊歸來，因與王再角，師兄未及審視，已被跌尋丈外，驚問其故，王舉以告之，是卽螳螂鳴名之時也，自此益知拳技之道實無止境，因與師兄勤加研練，使螳螂之藝益臻化境。不十年師兄與王先後辭世，該寺僧侶視螳螂拳不啻至寶，不輕示人，後有升霄道人雲遊至此，得承衣砵，螳螂拳始流傳於外。道人再傳海揚縣李三剪，李技成，設鑣局於濟南，盛名遠播，大江南北綠林豪傑，聞閃電手之名，莫不致服，畢生英名不替。至晚年，因無嗣，遍覓賢者以承其技，至福山縣，聞王榮生者，乃新科武進士，登門訪之，求演技，以王成名之大刀術獻，李觀畢，不讚一語，曰：技止此而已乎？何名之不符若此！王怒極，猛扑之，已失所在，正徬徨間，笑聲起於背後，因轉身取之，未得，反為所制，因求師事之，數年盡其技，李亦失踪，不知何去。王家富厚，旣不求士進，亦不以技炫人，閒則用作消遣，寒暑無間，數十年如一日，技益猛進，王晚年傳卽墨范旭東，范體格魁梧，重逾三百磅，有巨人之稱，精鐵砂掌，曾有一次行經田野，適二耕牛相角，見范來，疑相犯，乃共奔范前，范以來勢殊兇，非出絕技實難制之，先到之牛，范集中全力於右足，力蹴牛小腹，此龐然大物應聲倒地，後至者范以左手握其角，右手用力向牛脊一掌，牛亦倒地，農人以范擊斃其牛，要求賠償，范曰：吾為自衞而已！倘吾被牛打死，則汝肯賠命否？事乃寢息，由此范大力之名益騰播遐邇。光緒初年，有俄人約范往西伯利亞之霍地市角技，范以短於資，後得煙台全市武師助欵成行，此事非中國正式代表資格，且當時報紙又不及現在風行，故其事不彰，范至霍地先擊敗其俄人台主，然後取而代之，經十多塲比賽均非范之對手，范遂得錦標以歸。范氏再傳林景山、羅光玉等數人，民國八年，上海精武體育會總會，仰慕螳螂拳技，乃派員北上，延聘羅師光玉南下申江任總敎練之職，至民國十八年舉行全國運動會於首都，其弟子馬城鑫，代表上海市出席參加動手比賽，結果名列前茅，京滬各報競為刋載，羅師之名益噪，未幾奉中央總會之命南下百粵，而港、澳、南洋羣島，各地，巡視各分會，迨任完畢，遄返滬濱，適一二八淞滬戰起，精武被毀，會務廢弛，港精武主事人以羅師乃螳螂正宗，得此機會焉能放過，乃電上海臨時辦事處，促駕南來，自此港中人士，始知螳螂拳技之眞相，其留下港中之印象極佳，不幸港陷，羅師乃不甘居離亂忠奸渾雜之香江，買舟北返，不幸為病魔纏於春申，此一代宗師，撤手人寰，長眠地下，螳螂拳流傳至編者一輩，便是第七傳歷三百年。
During the last years of the Ming Dynasty, there was a man from Shandong called Wang Lang, who saw that the map was about to be changed. He wanted to devote himself to the defense of his nation, but the army would not accept him, and so he went to Mt. Song and joined the Shaolin Temple, where he learned martial arts to prepare himself for what he knew was coming. When the Manchu troops then invaded, he decided to go see what he could do alone to aid his homeland, but because traitors within the government had already sold their country out, there was nothing a martial hero could do.
　　Once the new Qing Dynasty had been established, Wang returned to Shaolin to organize the monks in order to restore the nation and avenge its humiliation. However, a spy learned of their plans and the Qing government ordered the temple be surrounded and burned down. Wang and his colleagues craftily managed to escape and ensure their master’s safety. To avoid being captured by the Manchu troops, they fled to the Emei Mountains, to the Kunlun Mountains, through several provinces, and finally came to a monastery on Shandong’s Mt. Lao, which became their new home.
　　Alas, their master soon passed away. Their eldest classmate then became the one in charge. Wang trained his martial arts every day to dispel the loneliness of their situation, but he always lost his sparring matches and felt ashamed. He vowed that in three years he would be able to defeat his elder. Three years later, Wang again had a bout with his elder, and again he lost. He was even more ashamed than before, so much so that he wanted to kill himself. His elder then decided to do some traveling. Just before he parted, he told Wang: “Practice hard! I’ll be back in another three years, and when I get back, I expect you to impress me.”
　　One hot summer’s day after his elder left, Wang found his stuffy room to be a very dreary place to be, so he grabbed his sword and some literature and went into the forest to get away from the heat. Once he had disappeared into the woods, he was met with a cool breeze gently blowing through and felt elated in mind and body. Then as soon as he opened a book to start reading, he heard the buzzing cries of an insect, a chaotic chirping sound that seemed almost sorrowful. He raised his head up and saw a mantis and a cicada fighting to the death. The mantis was using its sharp arms and its determined stepping, and soon the cicada was dead in the hands of the mantis.
　　After Wang had finished watching this, he considered how the mantis had performed its advancing and retreating with precision, used actions for both long range and short range, and had methods of both seizing and releasing, all exactly like skills of boxing. He therefore climbed onto the branch to catch it and then brought it back to the temple, where he toyed with it every day using pieces of straw, examining its multifaceted behaviors of sticking and adhering, collapsing and crushing, suddenness and greed, alertness and shifting, Wang, who was naturally gifted with intelligence, realized within just a few days that the hand methods of the mantis could be expressed in these twelve simple terms: [1] grab, [2] pull, [3] take, [4] hang, [5 & 6] hook and advance, [7 & 8] collapse and hit, [9 & 10] stick and adhere, [11 & 12] crowd and cram. He subsequently drew from the best methods of seventeen different masters, such as incorporating monkey stepping, and combined it all into one integrated art. After three years, he had created his own style.
　　Having had enough of traveling, Wang’s elder then returned and they had another bout. Not knowing what to expect, the elder ended up getting thrown more than ten feet away. Surprised, he asked how it happened. Wang explained the process of his new understanding, and thereupon they named his new art after the mantis. They henceforth ceaselessly increased their knowledge of these boxing methods, diligently researching it together, and turned the Mantis art into something profound.
　　Within the next ten years, Wang and his elder classmate had both passed away as well. The monks looked upon Mantis Boxing as nothing less than a treasure and did not lightly share it with outsiders. Later the Daoist Shengxiao [“Ascend to the Clouds”] traveled there and received the complete art. Mantis Boxing was then spread beyond the temple, for Shengxiao taught it to Li Sanjian of Haiyang County. After Li had absorbed these skills, he set up a bodyguard service in Jinan and earned a reputation that spread far and wide, being esteemed as a “forest hero” both north and south of the Yangzte River. Nicknamed “Lightning Hands”, he never lost a fight, and his glorious fame never diminished for his entire life.
　　In his later years, Li sought widely for someone worthy to carry on the art, having no heirs of his own to pass it down to. When he got to Fushan County, he heard of a man named Wang Rongsheng, who had recently become a successful candidate in the highest level of the imperial military examinations. Li paid him a visit at his home and asked to see a demonstration of his skill. Wang had made a name for himself due to his ability with the large saber, and so he performed with this weapon. After Li had finished watching this, he gave not a single word of approval, instead remarking: “That’s it? How did you get famous for that?” This made Wang so angry that he suddenly charged forward to attack Li, but somehow Li had vanished, leaving him hesitating in confusion. Hearing laughter behind him, he turned around and tried to attack again, but once again there was nothing there and he found that he himself had been seized. As a result, he then begged Li to be his teacher.
　　Over the course of the next several years, Li taught Wang everything he knew, and then Li went away and was never seen again. Since Wang was already from a wealthy family, he did not need to seek any official position, nor did he feel tempted to show off his skills to other people, he practiced simply for his own amusement during his free time. Practicing throughout winter and summer without ever taking a break, he trained consistently for decades, and hence his skill made dramatic progress.
　　In his later years, Wang taught his art to Fan Xudong of Yantai. Fan had a very large physique. He weighed over three hundred pounds and was known as “The Giant”. He was a master of iron palm. He once was passing through a field and encountered two plow oxen locking horns. When they saw him, they interpreted him to be a threat and charged forward. Seeing the ferocity of their power, he realized that he would not be able to save himself unless he acted with the utmost skillfulness. In response to the ox in front, Fan focused all of his power into his right foot and gave a forceful kick to its underbelly. This enormous beast fell to the ground with an echoing thud. Then to deal with the one that was charging up from behind it, he used his left hand to grab its horn and used his right hand to forcefully strike its spine. It too collapsed in a heap. The farmer had seen Fan kill his oxen and demanded compensation, to which Fan declared: “But I was acting in self-defense! What if instead they had killed me? How would you compensate me for that?” And there the matter ended. Because of this instance, Fan became known for his great power, his fame spreading far and wide.
　　In the early years of the reign of Emperor Guangxu [1875–1908], a Russian man invited Fan to Siberia for a wrestling challenge. Fan could not afford such a trip, but he was aided by funds from martial arts masters throughout Yantai. Since he was not a formal representative of China, and because newspapers in those days were not as widespread as they are today, this whole event did not become well-known. Once Fan arrived, he first defeated the Russian champion, thereby usurping his title, then went on to fight in dozens of other matches, in which he met none who were his equal. Having won the prize, he returned to China. Fan later taught his art to Lin Jingshan, Luo Guangyu, and several others.
　　In 1919, the Shanghai Jingwu Athletic Association so admired the Mantis boxing skills that they sent staff members north and consequently engaged Master Luo, who then went south to Shanghai to serve as their chief instructor for this art. In 1929, the National Games was held in Nanjing. Luo’s student Ma Chengxin represented Shanghai in the sparring competition and ended up listed among the most successful competitors. The results were published in Nanjing and Shanghai newspapers, and Master Luo’s name was increasingly talked of as a result.
　　Soon after this, Luo was sent south by the main Jingwu Association in Shanghai to make an inspection tour of the branch schools in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, and throughout the Malay Archipelago. Upon finishing this mammoth task, he returned to Shanghai, but then the January 28 Incident happened and the Jingwu headquarters was destroyed. Since it was no longer tenable to conduct classes there, the head of the Hong Kong Jingwu Association invited Luo back to Hong Kong to teach Mantis. In no position to refuse, he notified the temporary Shanghai office by telegram, saying that he was urgently heading south to be a Hongkonger from that point on. Discovering the true value of the Mantis boxing art, the people of Hong Kong have had a high opinion of it ever since.
　　War unfortunately made its way to Hong Kong as well. Master Luo was unwilling to endure the chaos and treachery of the place, so he returned north by boat, but then he became ill and passed away while staying in Shanghai. This great man of his generation is now dead and buried. The Mantis Boxing he taught me has so far been passed down through seven generations, over the course of three hundred years.

* * * *

上文早於二十六年前載於拙著「螳螂拳術闡秘」內，近年常於報章、雜誌中發現論述螳螂拳術者多附會之説或抄自拙著部份用作根據，將歷代祖師説成「天人」、「神仙」荒𧩙不經，雖寓褒揚毋寧説侮辱前賢？漢勛於此乃有補述之必要。
查「少林眞傳」內並無述及歷代傳記更無正確系統表誌。
羅師初蒞港精武任職時，適港會編印「徵求專刋」主編者請羅師寫一篇文章介紹螳螂拳，羅師艱於執筆，於是由吳寶祥先生（港精武太極拳敎員）筆記而由羅師口述：其標題與本文相同，首先説螳螂拳是由「王郎」所創。漢勛自漢口歸來與師同室居於精武，廣東口音的國語亦比前進步，常向師請益許多有關螳螂拳訣要，師亦盡言無隱，漢勛從師十餘年亦以此時獲益至多。漢叩以王郎實為何許人？師曰：王姓乃屬必然，但郎字則如汝粵人常稱之「某」，僅可表示男人作名而已！蓋忘其名故也。其實吳先生著筆時已知其意而用「王郎」較佳於「王某」也。
至漢勛編著螳螂叢書第一種：「螳螂拳術闡秘」時以最斗膽方法硬拚上一個「朗」字，因其字體與字音頗接近也。曾遭人非議漢勛之做法，惟功罪非漢所計，祗求合情合理，於心實無愧，非議又何傷哉！今日説螳螂拳者開口便是「王朗」漢勛亦足自豪耶？
由王朗以至漢勛僅七傳耳？何以有三百餘年歷史？普通計算之每隔三十年，應可作一代距離，七傳僅逾二百年而已！
由第二傳祖師升霄道人以後，皆是代代親傳者當無可疑之處，惟王朗並非親傳升霄道人則是最大之疑點也。漢勛推測之當是王氏殆後，近百年始由升霄道人得傳其技而至於今日光大於寰宇也。
漢勛於文末附列系統，每代皆以直屬祖師作依歸，祗第七傳曾遞門生帖之入室弟子盡所知列入。
The article above was published twenty-six years ago in Secrets of the Mantis Boxing Art. In recent years, it has often been quoted from in newspapers and magazines. People have copied out sections of my text as the basis of discussions on the Mantis boxing art, but frequently coming up with exaggerated interpretations and going so far as to describe the early masters as “divine beings” or “immortals”, which is ludicrous, far too intent on praising them rather than letting be ordinary men. I therefore have to make some additional statements:
　　In Authentic Teachings of Shaolin, there is no mention of those masters, and there are no reliable historical details or even a lineage chart.
　　When Master Luo first arrived in Hong Kong to teach at the Jingwu Association, he was asked by the editor of their newsletter to write an article introducing Mantis Boxing. He found it too difficult a task to actually write such an article himself, so he asked Wu Baoxiang (Taiji Boxing instructor at the Hong Kong Jingwu Association) to simply take down his dictation. The title of that article was the same as the piece above and Luo likewise began by discussing how Wang Lang created Mantis Boxing.
　　When I returned from the Hankou Jingwu Association, I shared his room at the Hong Kong location. Because my Mandarin was progressing, though with a strong Cantonese accent, I frequently asked him about the secrets of the Mantis boxing art. He shared freely with me and held nothing back. I studied from him for more than ten years, and it was during that time that I gained the most benefit. I once asked him who Wang Lang really was. He said: “Wang is a very common surname and ‘Lang’ is the equivalent of ‘some guy’, telling us nothing more than that he was male. His actual name seems to have been forgotten.” As a matter of fact, Wu Baoxiang intuited this point during the writing of the article and in place of “Wang Lang” wrote “a certain Mr. Wang”.
　　When I wrote Secrets of the Mantis Boxing Art, the first volume of my Mantis Boxing Series, I insisted that the “Lang” of Wang Lang should be 朗 instead of 郎, almost the same in both the way it is written and the way it is pronounced, but making more sense to me in terms of meaning. I have met people who condemn my use of 朗 without even considering my reasoning. It just seems to me to fit better as a name [the word meaning “clear” or “bright”, giving a sense of Wang Lang having a shining presence], and so I feel no guilt for changing the character and I shrug off anyone’s bad opinion of me. In fact, I am a little proud that Mantis practitioners nowadays have taken the hint and typically choose to use 朗 themselves.
　　Was it only seven generations from Wang Lang to myself? Then how did it take more than three hundred years? A generation averages about thirty years, so it seems that seven generations would only cover about two hundred years. After the second generation master, the Daoist Shengxiao, all subsequent generations involve direct personal instruction. However, it is extremely doubtful that Shengxiao was taught by Wang Lang. My guess is that there is a gap of about a hundred years between Wang passing down the art and Shengxiao obtaining it, this art which has now spread around the whole world. Below I have included a lineage chart showing a direct line of transmission through the generations, except the seventh generation, for which I have also listed my fellow students.

螳螂拳術源流表
MANTIS BOXING LINEAGE:

始祖王朗
[1st generation] Wang Lang, founder of the art, taught
升霄道人
[2nd] the Daoist Shengxiao, who taught
李三剪（海陽縣）
[3rd] Li Sanjian of Haiyang County, who taught
王榮生（福山縣）
[4th] Wang Rongsheng of Fushan County, who taught
范旭東（卽墨縣）
[5th] Fan Xudong of Jimo County, who taught
羅光玉（篷萊縣）
[6th] Luo Guangyu of Penglai County, who taught:

[7th]
于樂江（山東）
Yu Lejiang of Shandong
鄒喜功（山東）
Zou Xigong of Shandong
馬成鑫（江蘇）
Ma Chengxin of Jiangsu
范永振（山東）
Fan Yongzhen of Shandong
崔魁三（山東）
Cui Kuisan of Shandong
崔壽亭（山東）
Cui Shouting of Shandong
陳震儀（廣東）
Chen Zhenyi of Guangdong
黃漢勛（廣東）
Huang Hanxun of Guangdong
遲倫之（山東）
Chi Lunzhi of Shandong
王聖忠（浙江）
Wang Shengzhong of Zhejiang
區興漢（廣東）
Qu Xinghan of Guangdong
吳漢琛（廣東）
Wu Hanchen of Guangdong
郭祖超（廣東）
Guo Zuchao of Guangdong
黃錦洪（廣東）
Huang Jinhong of Guangdong
李渭一（廣東）
Li Weiyi of Guangdong
張寶厚（山東）
Zhang Baohou of Shandong
李觀瀾（廣東）
Li Guanlan of Guangdong
陳夢幻（廣東）
Chen Menghuan of Guangdong
潘洪昌（山東）
Pan Hongchang of Shandong
林伯炎（福建）
Lin Boyan of Fujian
朱志祥（廣東）
Zhu Zhixiang of Guangdong

–

我們拜師典禮的囘憶　陳玉良
LOOKING BACK AT OUR DISCIPLE CEREMONY by Chen Yuliang

漢勛老師，服務海內外精武體育會，及國術界凡四十年，勞績卓著，而今榮休矣。授業囘憶初投師門時，於一九四零年。當時黃師任敎於勵存國術社。翌年冬，太平洋戰事爆發，授業遂告輟學。迨至香港重光之後，黃師復任敎於香港精武體育會螳螂國術班，於是再投師門，繼續所學。並於一九四六年秋，由師叔關卓先生介紹，正式舉行拜師典禮於威靈頓街襟江酒家。同時參與者，尚有姚勝、麥興、黃鑑、李森、蘇芳、張棠等數人。授業後因生活所驅，轉赴濠江工作，致不能常親敎益，頗以為憾。
黃師少懷大志，品學兼優，訓徒有方，誨人不倦。黃師常言：習藝所以健身，防暴；不得恃技凌人，更不能恃技作奸犯科。諄諄以此為訓。
黃師近年來，編纂螳螂拳術叢書，達數十種之多，嘔心瀝血，費盡幾許精神。對於發揚國術，厥功至偉。而能不自隱秘，盡將所學，闡述無遺。更將數十年之研求心得，公諸世人，誠屬難能可貴。黃師堪稱德藝高超，允文允武，為國術界不可多得之人材。茲値黃師榮休之際，謹綴數言，畧述拜師之經過，以誌不忘。
Master Huang Hanxun has served the Jingwu Athletic Association and the martial arts community as a whole for forty years. After all his distinguished accomplishments, he is now retiring.
　　I remember the first time I walked into his school to seek instruction, in 1940. At that time, Master Huang was teaching at the Society for the Preservation of Martial Arts. The following winter, war erupted in the Pacific, and so I had to interrupt my studies for a while. Once Hong Kong had been liberated, Master Huang took up a teaching position in the martial arts department of the Hong Kong Jingwu Association. I sought him out and recommenced my training.
　　In the autumn of 1946, a ceremony to become formal disciples was held at the Jinjiang Restaurant on Wellington Street, the venue having been recommended by Huang’s fellow student Guan Zhuo. This ceremony made disciples of Yao Huangsheng, Mai Xiongxing, Huang Jianxi, Li Qisen, Su Yingfang, Zhang Xiantang, and myself. However, life again obstructed me, forcing me go work in the Haojiang District [of Shantou, eastern Guangdong], and so I missed out on a lot of personal instruction from Huang at that time, which I still regret.
　　Master Huang is a man of few regrets and great ambitions, outstanding in both his conduct and his knowledge, a systematic and tireless teacher. He often said: “The art is for fitness and self-defense, not for bullying others and committing crimes.” This was a point he made repeatedly.
　　Not that many years ago, Master Huang compiled the “Mantis Boxing Book Series”, producing more than two dozen volumes. Wholeheartedly devoting himself to the project, he sweat blood to get it right, putting all of his spirit into the task. In the promoting of martial arts, the scale of his achievement is awe-inspiring. Incapable of keeping the art for himself, he presents everything he knows, not holding back a single detail.
　　To share with the public all that one has learned through decades of personal research is truly admirable. He is at the highest level in morality as well as skill, brilliant in both the civil and martial realms, a unique talent within the martial arts community. Now that Master Huang is retiring, I have composed these few words to briefly describe what it has been like to be his student, making a record of it so that what he has done will not be forgotten.

–

領拳——螳螂拳之特色　黃文階
TWO-PERSON VERSIONS OF SOLO SETS – A SPECIAL FEATURE OF MANTIS BOXING by Huang Wenjie

淸初王朗氏創螳螂拳，迄今三百多年歷史，學者遍散南北各地，及海外諸國，為中國國術一大門派。
螳螂拳之系統組織，乃集合十七家宗法而成，剛柔互濟，長短並用，且快而不浮，穩而不滯；習之愈久，愈覺其奧妙處，弗能宣諸筆墨也。
螳螂拳之異於其他拳術者，蓋其具有獨特風格——「領拳」是也。憶余初隨黃師習技，未知拳之能領，但求盲目練習，故進展緩慢。自習「領崩步」後，始逐漸了解該拳派之獨有風格。余曾請敎一位曾隨羅公習技之老前輩，告余曰：『拳領至「躱剛」而止，因羅公只授至此也。』余習至「領躱剛」後，亦以為已窮螳螂派之領拳矣。豈知近一兩年間，從黃師所學得者計有「揷捶」、「白猿出洞」、「白猿偷桃」、「黑虎交叉」、「梅花手」、「螳螂出洞」與「小架式」等。至此余對本門拳技認識更深。抑亦證實螳螂拳每拳套均可「領」也。
螳螂拳之所以能領，蓋其有完善之組織，招式間皆有聯貫性，非東鱗西爪掇合所成，所以學者練拳時，有一氣呵成之感。
「領拳」操演嫻熟，不但可如一般串子表演，以欣賞其動作之緊湊，整體之美觀，學此技者且能從中領畧拳內每一動作之功用，於搏擊中運用時更可揮灑自如，實對學者裨益不淺也。
又螳螂拳中有手法十二，卽勾、摟、採、掛、刁、進、刁、打、粘、黏、貼、靠。若曾習練「領拳」者，對此等手法之領悟，有舉一反三之妙。領拳時，並須雙方時間互相配合，始能收緊湊之效，故領拳對外五形（手、眼、身、法、步）之運用，亦有顯著之幫助。
螳螂拳手法繁多，學之易而求精則難，幸有「領拳」為輔，苟能勤加操練，必有所得，由此可見領拳之功用大矣。
Wang Lang created Mantis Boxing in the early days of the Qing Dynasty, more than three hundred years ago. Students of it have since spread everywhere, north and south, as well as to various countries overseas. It is one of the major schools of Chinese martial arts. The Mantis boxing art was made by mixing in seventeen other martial arts. In this art, hardness and softness complement each other, and both long-range and short-range actions are used equally. The techniques are fast and yet still hit with heaviness. The stances are stable and yet still switch with great mobility. The longer you practice the art, the more you will discover its subtleties, experiencing things that cannot even be expressed in words.
　　What makes Mantis Boxing different from other martial arts is this unique feature: it has two-person versions of its solo sets. [In other words, instead of the usual way of having solo sets and two-person sets as separate things within a curriculum, it relates the practice of both more directly by having two-person versions of the actual solo sets themselves.] When I started learning this art from Master Huang, I did not yet know about the two-person sets, instead I innocently sought more of the solo practice, and therefore my progress was slower than it would have been if I had incorporated more partner practice earlier. After I finally learned the two-person Avalanche Steps boxing set, I gradually began to understand the unique character of the Mantis system.
　　I once asked an elder practitioner who had learned from Master Luo himself about these two-person sets. He told me: “When I learned the art, the only two-person version of a solo set was the Dodging Hardness set, because that was the only one Master Luo taught in those days.” After learning the two-person Dodging Hardness set, I too had assumed that it was the limit of the two-person versions. Little did I know that within a couple of years I would also be learning from Master Huang the two-person versions of Charging Punches, White Ape Leaves the Cave, White Ape Steals a Peach, Black Tiger Blocks the Path, Plum Blossom Hands, Mantis Leaves the Cave, and Small-Scale Postures. My understanding of this martial art deepened further and I finally realized that every single solo set in Mantis Boxing could indeed be turned into a two-person version.
　　The reason Mantis Boxing is able to turn its solo sets into two-person sets is because of how superbly the sets are constructed, having a continuity from one technique to another rather than made of bits and pieces randomly stuck together. When students practice one of these boxing sets, it feels like there is a continuous flow throughout. When you have become skillful at one of these two-person sets, you will be able to perform it just like an ordinary two-person set in some other martial art. It will provoke admiration for the conciseness of the movements and the artistry of the choreography. You will also be able to better appreciate the application of each movement in a set, and when fighting be able to wield them even more naturally. These sets are therefore of tremendous benefit to students.
　　Additionally, there are the “twelve terms” of Mantis Boxing: [1] grab, [2] pull, [3] take, [4] hang, [5 & 6] hook and advance, [7 & 8] collapse and hit, [9 & 10] stick and adhere, [11 & 12] crowd and cram. If you practice these two-person sets, the meaning of these terms will become so much clearer to you, a case of one thing revealing many other things. Practicing these sets requires two partners to be working in perfect coordination with each other, consequently improving the timing of your movements. These sets are therefore also of great assistance in training the “external five elements”: hands, eyes, torso, technique, and footwork.
　　Mantis Boxing has a great many techniques. They are easy to learn, but difficult to master. We are fortunate to have two-person versions as an aid. If you can work hard, practicing them more and more, you are certain to have tremendous gains to your skill, proving just valuable these sets are.

–

「搏擊」之提倡者　禤紹燦
A PROMOTER OF FIGHTING ARTS by Ta Shaocan

近世武林人士，對自由搏擊之提倡，不遺餘力，致使幾近乎式微之我國傳統武術，重樹旗幟，此實我民族之福也。
孜自由搏擊之法，原起不久。約在民初期間，精武體育會之分會，紛紛成立，如雨後春筍，遍佈各省，為此，上海中央總會亟須專門導師以訓育人才。
一九一八年，螳螂派宗師羅公光玉，受聘南下上海，以弱冠之齡，而執敎於精武總會。惟其年紀尚輕，在工作上所遭遇到之困難與歧視，在所難免；然於授課之時，羅公特別注重學員對搏擊之訓練，以求實用上提高水準。於循循善導之餘，更躬身下塲示範，與學員切磋，使學員更深入了解交手時之應變，增加學員之經驗與信心。有見其對搏擊精彩者，奇而問之，羅公曰：「此乃螳螂派搏擊法之精妙也」。
民國十八年，南京舉行全國運動會中之武術比賽運動大會，羅公遣派其徒馬成鑫代表上海特別市出賽，馬君全力應戰，不負衆望，連勝數塲，最後更擊倒西康代表，樹赫赫之功，奪得全國比賽冠軍，由此一舉成名，名震武林，此亦由於羅公平時訓練有素之功也。更引起會衆注意，由於馬君武術精湛，實為諸代表中之表表者，羅公獨特訓練之搏擊法，由是披靡，而該法至今尚被公認為半世紀前首倡之最佳搏擊訓練法。
及至羅公南下任敎於香港分會，抱一貫之作風，仍沿用此種自由搏擊訓練法。在無數次比賽及表演中，均有良好之表現，獲一致之好評。更而使南方武林人士，獲益不淺，咸認為該訓練法為最實用者，遂爭相仿效，精益求精，技術由是逐漸提高，習者自四方而至，今搏擊之盛行，未嘗非羅氏倡導之功也。
Modern martial arts masters have been doing their utmost to promote the spread of fighting arts, bringing many of our nation’s traditional martial arts back from the brink of extinction, able to again raise their banners proudly. This is truly a blessing for our people.
　　The work of spreading our fighting arts did not begin very long ago. In the early days of the Republic, branches of the Jingwu Athletic Association were being established one after another, emerging in every province, sprouting up like bamboo after a rainfall. Because of this, the central Jingwu headquarters in Shanghai urgently sought out specialized teachers in order to best instruct students.
　　In 1918, Mantis Boxing master Luo Guangyu went south to Shanghai, accepting a position to teach young men at the Jingwu Association. Because he was still so young himself at that time, he was inevitably confronted with some barriers and bias in the workplace. Shrugging it off, he taught his lessons with special attention on improving the ability of the students to actually apply the techniques.
　　In addition to his methodical and excellent instruction, he personally demonstrated everything and engaged in discussion about the material directly with the students, enabling them to more deeply understand how to adapt when in a fight, thereby adding to their experience and confidence. Those who saw his fighting skill were amazed and asked him about it. He always humbly gave the credit to the art: “This is the magic of Mantis techniques.”
　　In 1929, Luo sent his student Ma Chengxin to represent Shanghai in the martial arts competition at the National Games in Nanjing. Ma accepted the challenge wholeheartedly and did not fail to live up to expectations, winning bout after bout, achieving a glorious victory after finally knocking down the champion from Xikang Province [what is now western Sichuan and eastern Tibet]. His success in the competition, which gave him instant fame in the martial arts community, was due to the training he received from Luo, and the attention Luo subsequently received was in turn due to the exquisite performance of Ma.
　　Because Ma set such a remarkable example among the competitors, Luo’s unique training method became talked of everywhere, and to this day is still considered the best fighting training for the last half century. When Master Luo went south to teach at the Hong Kong branch, he remained true to his art and continued to use his method of fighting training. In countless competitions and demonstrations, his performance was superb and earned him unanimous praise.
　　The southern martial arts community in particular has received enormous benefit from him, all agreeing that his training method is the most practical and striving to imitate it. He continued to improve further and further, his skill gradually reaching such a height that practitioners from everywhere came to learn from him. The popularity of fighting arts nowadays would never have been achieved without the pioneering work of Master Luo.

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國術畧談　葉烱財
A BRIEF DISCUSSION OF MARTIAL ARTS by Ye Jiongcai

國術，為我國數千年之藝術也，用之於國，保衞疆土，而視其國之大小，均有軍事設備，而勤操訓練，三操兩講，可見操練多於講解，訓練為靈活強健之戰士，才能保國衞民，用之於家，日出而作，處理家中事務，井井有條，毫無倦容，亦可夜防宵小之輩，用之於已，強身健體，卻病延年也。
至歐東漸，體育事業繁興，各種運動，不勝枚舉，均是鍛練身體之長好運動，稍可惜者，是集體運動，二三人而至十餘廿人，雖有個人運動，所需器械用具甚多，非個人力量所能購置，不如中國拳術之千門萬戶，形形式式，無論集體或個人，均可操練，各種輕重物件，順手拈來，均可作為器械，不限塲地，不限時間，隨時隨處均可練習。
吾人宜學習拳術，強身健體，兼有防身之用，希愛好者，宜參加練習也。
一九七二年二月
Martials arts are one of our nation’s most ancient art forms.
　　Used on behalf of the nation as a whole, these arts are for defending territory. All nations large and small have a military that engages in diligent training, the act of training itself being even more important than any theories of battle. Having soldiers that are nimble and strong is a requirement for being able to protect the nation and defend its people.
　　Used for one’s household, practicing these arts makes it easier to get up in morning, accomplish chores with greater efficiency, and leave one completely unfatigued by the day’s tasks, not to mention the ability to defend one’s home against burglars in the middle of the night.
　　Used for the self, these arts invigorate the body, ridding it of illness and adding more years of life.
　　Countless types of sports have come to us from Europe, all of which are excellent methods of exercising the body. Unfortunately so many of them are group activities, involving from two or three people up to ten or twenty. Although there are also various such activities for individuals, they require so much equipment as to be beyond the financial resources of an individual to afford.
　　None of these sports are as good as any of the vast variety of Chinese martial arts, which everyone can practice, regardless of group practice or solo practice. As for equipment, objects of any weight that be conveniently picked up can be used as a practice weapon. And since there are no limits as to training facilities or schedule, these arts can be practiced anywhere and at any time.
　　We should all learn martial arts to both strengthen our bodies and be able to defend ourselves from attackers. I hope all who are interested will join in and train with us.
　　- Feb, 1972

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出版叢書歷盡滄桑　蘇世民
TRIALS & TRIBULATIONS OF PUBLISHING THE MANTIS BOXING BOOK SERIES by Su Shimin

每當我看完了黃師出版的國術叢書時，總覺得黃師書裏的文字解釋非常淸楚，措詞亦十分恰當，想黃師年少的時候，定必飽受國學薰陶，始能達到今日的成就。但偶然在一次閒談中，我曾問及此事，黃師竟毫不隱藏的説出，他祗受過為時很短的「卜卜齋」式敎育；然而因為志向提倡本門拳術，因此在傳授拳術之餘，更努力地自修文學；有志者事竟成，經多年努力，節衣縮食以籌經費，於一九四五年出版了第一本國術書籍，名叫「闡秘」。
當時的環境下，要自資印行一本刋物，並不是一件容易的事呢！無論是經費或編輯技術方面，在毫無經驗的情況中，黃師都面臨困難。況且，以黃師的性格，他自己的事是不願叫別人去做；所以，為了要達成這理想，他曾取出全部金錢和精神。
由於黃師有著無比的毅力和苦幹的精神，「闡秘」終於梓行。但黃師不因這小小的成就而自滿，反而不斷的繼續努力，因而第二種叢書「崩步拳」亦得於同年出版。但書雖然已經出版，銷路卻是一個重要的問題。
當時，上海精武體育會是由謝君實（芝壽）主持螳螂拳訓練班，（謝君幼時曾跟隨羅公學習拳術多年，黃師去漢口精武體育會任敎，亦是謝君的力邀前往）；他知道黃師在港出版書籍的事，便亦負起在國內各地推銷的責任，不啻是一服興奮劑。但當時國內時局動盪，貨幣更不穩定，而且港滬交通沒有今天的方便，書去欵來需要十多天，收到了書欵時，紙幣又已貶値了，所以虧蝕不少，這是一個很大的打擊。
然而，黃師並不因這挫折而停頓下來，反而加倍努力，毫不鬆懈，經過二十多年的艱辛奮鬥，已經出版的國術叢書，現已有二十八種之多，包括拳術理論的如「闡秘」、「搏擊心戰」及「術戰」等，拳套的如「崩步拳」、「大、小架式」等，兵器的如「軍中大刀」、「子午劍」等。
這些書籍，除在本港發售外，還銷往南洋各地。近年來不少同學們去了歐美等地工作，並於多餘的時間發揚我們的螳螂拳技，所以那些地區亦有不少同學來函定購各種書籍，本門拳術亦因而普遍傳到世界各地去了。
旣然銷路已擴大，學習螳螂拳的人亦每日增加，黃師原想再接再勵出版更多的書籍，事實上亦已經寫成很多講義和攝成了三十多種拳套的照片，可惜近年來某地書商將黃師著作一一翻印（註），（我於去歲旅遊觀光時，亦在市面見到），而他那些書籍亦沒有版權保障；在此惡劣環境打擊下，出書的事情祗有暫時停止了。
黃師半生為了發揚螳螂派的拳技，不惜付出了無數金錢和不少心血，使螳螂拳得以發揚光大，這種偉大的精神，我們眞是學不到一絲一毫。然而黃師的苦學精神和不屈不撓的無比毅力，始終是我們後輩的好楷模。
（註）編者按：該等書籍，必定對於中國武術有相當重要的價値，才會被無恥的翻印；只可惜其粗製濫造，但知圖利耳；若製作精良，同人等當致謝其代本派宣揚。
後記：黃漢超師兄肆業哈佛大學時見圖書館藏有黃師出版叢書，祗惜不全耳！後請黃師補足之，該館長曾來函致謝。港九市政局公立圖書館亦由黃師各送全部以供市民參閱，各處圖書館來函索取者黃師均不吝贈與也。
Whenever I pick up one of Master Huang’s books, I find his explanations to be very clear, always choosing the right words to make his point. I think that when he was young, he must have been strongly steeped in a traditional Chinese education in order to attain such accomplishments. Once when we were chatting, I asked him about this, and he told me with extraordinary frankness that he had received only a very brief “classical” schooling. However, because of his ambition to promote Mantis Boxing, he had to go beyond the mere teaching of the art and put in extra effort to study literature on his own. [Quoting from Books of Han, bio of Geng Yan: “If you have ambition, your goals will be accomplished.” (i.e. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”)]
　　After many years of hard work, as well as living frugally to save up the required funds, he published the first volume of his Mantis Boxing Series in 1945 [June, 1946]: Secrets of the Mantis Boxing Art. Under the circumstances in those days, self-publishing was no easy task anyway, but it was made even more difficult for Master Huang by a lack of funds, a lack of editorial craft, and a lack of publishing experience. Furthermore, a feature of his personality is that he is unwilling to ask others for help with his projects, and so in order to fulfill this ambition, he contributed all of his own money and mental energy to it.
　　Because of Master Huang’s incomparable willpower and hardworking spirit, Secrets was published. And then instead of resting on his laurels, he maintained his effort and went right into producing volume 2: Avalanche Steps Boxing Set, publishing it within just a year of the first book [June, 1947]. However, publishing these books was one thing, but selling them was another.
　　At that time, the Mantis Boxing course at the Shanghai Jingwu Association was being run by Xie Zhishou. (Xie in his youth had also learned from Luo Guangyu for many years. When Master Huang went to teach at the Hankou Jingwu Association, he enthusiastically invited Xie to join him there.) He knew about Master Huang’s project of publishing books in Hong Kong and made it his personal duty to peddle them in various places throughout the nation, which gave a huge boost to the sales of the books.
　　Unfortunately, considering that the nation was at that time in the midst of civil war, the economy was very unstable. The transporting of books from Hong Kong to Shanghai was not convenient, taking almost two weeks, and in the time it took for Xie to receive the books, the value of the currency had already dropped, meaning that he would not be able to make back hardly any of the money he had spent to purchase the books in order to sell them, much less return a profit to Master Huang, a major blow to the whole project.
　　In response to this setback, Master Huang did not even slow down, instead he tried even harder, never slacking, over the course of more than twenty years of struggle. In his series of published books, there are more than twenty-eight volumes, including books about martial arts theory such as Secrets, Fighting Mentality, and Fighting Techniques; about boxing sets such as Avalanche Steps, Large-Scale Postures, and Small-Scale Postures; and about weapon sets such as Large Saber Techniques for the Army and Sundial Sword.
　　Beyond Hong Kong, these books have also been sold in various places in the South Sea. In recent years, many of his students have gone to work in Europe and America, spending their spare time promoting the Mantis boxing art. As a result, there are many students in those places who have ordered his books, thus expanding the spread of the art throughout the world.
　　Sales of the books increased, the number of Mantis practitioners increasing by the day. Huang therefore decided to continue to publish further books, and in fact already had written manuscripts and had photos made for some thirty more practice sets, but unfortunately, a certain bookseller started reprinting his own copies of the previous books, one after another, which Huang had neglected to copyright. (While traveling last year, I saw with my own eyes that these unauthorized volumes continue to inhabit bookstalls.) This vile situation soured the act of publishing for Huang and induced him to take a break from it.
　　Master Huang has spent half his life promoting the skills of this art, never hesitating to contribute any of his money and all of his effort, and that is why Mantis Boxing is now flourishing. Although this kind of dedication seems almost beyond human ability, his hardworking attitude and uncompromising nature will always set a noble example for future students.
　　(Editors’ note: Master Huang’s books are indeed of significant value for Chinese martial arts, and so it is inevitable that someone will make reprints of them without permission. It is simply a pity that they are made so cheaply, revealing that the motivation behind it is just to make money off the brand. Of course, if they were to make high quality reprints, practitioners might instead thank them for helping to promote the art.)
　　(A further note: When Huang Hanchao was studying at Harvard University, he discovered that their library had a collection of Master Huang’s publications, the only problem being that it was incomplete. He then asked Master Huang to fill in the gaps, for which the librarian sent a letter of special thanks. Master Huang thereafter sent complete collections to Hong Kong and Kowloon public libraries so that all citizens would have access to these materials, and whenever any other libraries wrote to him requesting his books, he donated them without hesitation.)

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螳螂拳是具整體性的完美拳術　黃鵬英
MANTIS BOXING IS A PERFECT MARTIAL ART by Huang Pengying

中國拳術的源流久遠，發展下來，派系衆多，自然每一門每一派都有它本身的特色；螳螂拳亦不例外，除以螳螂手為法，猿步為輔的基本原則外，更以剛柔並重，長短兼備見稱於世；且因為是集十七家之精華加以改進而成，所以堪可稱為完美的拳術。
首先，螳螂拳裏面的每一套拳，都可以「領」；相信任何曾學習螳螂拳的人對領拳都不會覺得陌生。這就是根據某一套拳的招法，兩人對拆，作用是使學者明瞭每一招式使用的方法，本刋中已另有專文論述，在此不贅。
除了拳套的互領外，尚有散手的對拆。這些則是選取數招常用的散手，加以經常操練，務使能達到快、勁、準的原則。「黑虎偷心」串子是其中最簡單的，至於「粘手」、「掛手」、「磨盤手」等便非初學者所能領畧其精妙靈活處了。
當然，任何具規模的國術派系均少不了兵器的運用；而螳螂拳中的兵器旣多，且每種兵器均有多種不同的練法；就以單刀而言，就有「八卦單刀」、「燕靑單刀」、「五行單刀」和「六合單刀」，此外更有別開生面的「醉酒地躺單刀」；雖言全部都離不開單刀十法，但曾練過這幾套刀的同學都知道每一套均有其本身的風格——以花巧見稱還是著重實際運用，近身纏打抑是以長攻取勝，實非三言兩語可盡其奧妙處。
正如普通對打有「桃花傘」、「偷接」等串子，兵器亦有類似的對打；其中又以對槍的最多，這當然因為槍被譽為長兵器之王，所以螳螂拳裏面就有「單刀對槍」、「雙刀對槍」、「雙匕對槍」、「單刀匕對槍」、「單刀枴對槍」、「三節棍對槍」、「奇門棍對槍」、「大刀對槍」、「大掃子對槍」、「蟠龍棍對槍」和「空手對槍」等多套與槍對練的兵器對打了。這些對打不僅可使我們對每種兵器的法則更加明瞭，關於槍的靈活運用，抑且是瞭如指掌。
這還不算，比較別開生面的要數同類兵刃的對拆了。簡單的有「五郎對棍」；至於「子午對舞劍」、「十字梅花對子刀」和「對三節棍」則非有純熟的劍法刀法，柔活的手腕和優良的配搭不能練習，更遑論要臻盡善盡美的境界了。
除此之外，螳螂拳的對拆中，有些還是三位同學一起練習的；「三燕穿林」就是三人的徒手對拆，而「三人大刀槍」則是拳術界裏的龍（槍）虎（大刀）鳳（劍）大會串；這些三人對拆能令我們於對打時時間配合得更準確；雖無實際運用的機會亦不失為鍛練身手的一良好途徑。
跟著，不能不提的就是螳螂拳裏的搏擊了；根本，這名詞就是先師公羅光玉先生所創，意卽兩人自由地施展螳螂門的各種手法、步法、腳法而互相搏鬥攻擊；搏擊的學問自非於此能盡，但無可否認，這是運用及試驗平時自對打中學得的技巧的最佳機會了。
以上種種，都著重於拳技的鍛練和運用；但螳螂拳並沒有忽畧了「功力」的練習。其中最顯著而又為多數同學所熟悉的首推羅漢功和鐵沙掌了。前者是氣魄的培養，後者則是體外（尤其是手部）肌膚的磨練，皆能對習螳螂拳術者有莫大的裨益，亦是別派拳術所沒有的。
縱觀中國大江南北各種拳術派系，沒有一種齊備以上各項練習法——卽獨打，領拳，串子，兵器和兵器對練，三人對打，及搏擊等；而螳螂拳旣能包括全部，當能被稱為一種具有整體性的拳術而無愧。同時，由此亦可知道，要創造一種完美的拳術並非易事，更非曾學習拳術祗兩三年的人所能辦。
Chinese martial arts have been around for so long that they have of course evolved and branched off into many different versions. Naturally each system and each style within that system has developed its own unique characteristics, and Mantis Boxing is no exception to this. Beyond its fundamental premise of “mantis hands, monkey feet”, it also famously uses both hardness and softness, and gives equal emphasis to long-range and short-range techniques. Because the art was improved by adding in the best techniques from seventeen other systems, it can be considered a perfect martial art.
　　First of all, every solo set in Mantis Boxing can also be practiced as a two-person set. I am certain that anyone who has practiced a Mantis Boxing solo set would easily be able to identify it upon seeing the two-person version of that set. This is because every technique in that set gets performed against an attacking partner, thereby supplying an explicit understanding of the application of each technique. (Since Huang Wenjie already discussed this subject above, I do not need to say anything more about it here.)
　　Beyond the two-person sets, there is also the training of fighting applications for the most commonly used techniques. Give them added attention in your daily practice until you are able to execute them with speed, power, and precision. Techniques such as BLACK TIGER STEALS THE HEART are incredibly simple, but as for actions like “sticky hand”, “hanging hand”, or “millstone hands”, their subtleties might be a little too refined for beginners to appreciate and will make more sense at higher levels.
　　Every martial art involves weapons training. There are many weapons in Mantis Boxing, and there are several different sets for each weapon. In the case of the saber for instance, there are: Yan Qing’s Saber, Eight Trigrams Saber, Five Elements Saber, Liuhe Saber, and the unique Drunken Groundwork Saber. Although none of them depart from the ten basic saber techniques [chopping, rolling, hooking, hanging, slicing, patting, carrying, raising, searching, scooping], students who have learned these sets know that each set nevertheless has its own particular personality. The movements are beautiful to watch, but the emphasis remains on basic practical application: getting in close to tangle up an opponent’s attacks, then reaching out with long-range techniques to defeat him. But of course, the marvels of the weapon cannot be condensed into just a few words.
　　There are also ordinary sparring sets [i.e. not based on the solo sets], such as Peach Blossom Parasols and Steal & Catch, and there are also sparring sets for weapons. The weapon sparring sets are most often paired against a spear, naturally so, for the spear is honored as the “king of weapons”. Within Mantis Boxing, sparring sets with a spear include: Saber versus Spear, Double Sabers versus Spear, Double Daggers versus Spear, Saber & Dagger versus Spear, Saber & Cane versus Spear, Three-Section Staff versus Spear, Qimen Staff versus Spear, Halberd versus Spear, Two-Section Staff versus Spear, Coiling-Dragon Staff versus Spear, as well as Empty-Hand versus Spear. These sparring sets therefore not only give us a clearer understanding of each weapon, but also a more thorough understanding of the ingenuities of wielding a spear.
　　There are also weapon sparring sets in which both people are using the same weapon, such as Two-Person Fifth Son’s Staff, a very simple set, as well as Two-Person Ziwu Sword, Two-Person Plum Blossom Saber, and Two-Person Three-Section Staff, which cannot be performed properly, or even practiced at all, before reaching a decent level of skill in those weapons, first developing supple wrists and superb coordination.
　　There are also three-person sparring sets, such as Three Swallows Fly Through the Forest, a three-person empty-hand set, or Three-Person Halberd versus Spear [halberd versus two spears, also called Crouching Tiger Catches the Dragons]. (In Chinese martial arts, the use of “dragon” in the name of a set refers to a spear, “tiger” refers to a halberd [or saber], and “phoenix” refers to a sword.) These sets can further enhance your timing and coordination. Even if these classical weapon techniques end up having no use in everyday life, they at least provide an excellent means of exercising the body and hands.
　　There is also free sparring in Mantis Boxing, which Master Luo Guangyu liked to call simply “fighting”. It involves two people sparring against each other using whatever Mantis techniques, stances, or kicks they feel like. There is of course more to it than this, but surely it is already obvious that it presents the best opportunity to use and experiment with the techniques learned from the choreographed sparring sets.
　　Everything above has to do with the training and applying of martial skills. However, Mantis Boxing does not neglect exercises for strength training, the best known being the Luohan Exercises, which are for cultivating a vigorous spirit, and the iron palm exercises, which are for tempering the skin of the hands. Both of these kinds of exercises are of enormous benefit to Mantis Boxing practitioners and are often absent from other martial arts.
　　Looking at the various martial arts both north and south of the Yangtze River, none of them have all of these training methods – solo sets, two-person versions of solo sets, sparring sets, solo weapon sets, weapon sparring sets, three-person sparring sets, free sparring, strength training – except Mantis Boxing. We can therefore proclaim without exaggeration that this particular martial art is genuinely complete. It is also clear from all this that the creation of a perfect martial art is no easy task and cannot be achieved by someone who has practiced for just a few years.

–

漢勛健身院　歷屆畢業同學錄
LIST OF ALL HONFAN FITNESS ACADEMY GRADUATES:

■第一屆（一九四八年）
1st Graduation Session (1948)

特級：韋漢生
Expert: Wei Hansheng
高級：蘇芳　陳玉良
Advanced: Su Yingfang, Chen Yuliang
中級：麥華永　陳鎭華
Intermediate: Mai Huayong, Chen Zhenhua
初級：馬紹棋　陳慶　林德　張銓　陳伙　譚志　鍾松　梁順　吳文　吳財貴　陳錦洪　鄺鉅堂　范雄飛　麥蘭芳　麥恆芳　吳漢滔　麥冠華　吳寶
Beginner: Ma Shaoqi, Chen Qing, Lin De, Zhang Quan, Chen Huo, Tan Zhi, Zhong Song, Liang Shun, Wu Wen, Wu Caigui, Chen Jinhong, Kuang Jutang, Fan Xiongfei, Mai Lanfang, Mai Hengfang, Wu Hantao, Mai Guanhua, Wu Bao

■第二屆（一九四九年）
2nd Session (1949)

高級：麥華永
Advanced: Mai Huayong
中級：林德　梁順　馬紹棋　陳錦洪　譚志　鄺鉅堂　吳文　麥冠華　吳漢滔　屈震強
Intermediate: Lin De, Liang Shun, Ma Shaoqi, Chen Jinhong, Tan Zhi, Kuang Jutang, Wu Wen, Mai Guanhua, Wu Hantao, Qu Zhenqiang
初級：李植光　李浩良　李植發　鄭祥　蔡肇濤　陳海儔　陳變　吳有才　黃福　戴金城　李炎鑫
Beginner: Li Zhiguang, Li Haoliang, Li Zhifa, Zheng Xiang, Cai Zhaotao, Chen Haichou, Chen Bian, Wu Youcai, Huang Fu, Dai Jincheng, Li Yanxin

■第三屆（一九五〇）
3rd Session (1950)

特級：麥華永　陳玉良
Expert: Mai Huayong, Chen Yuliang
高級：屈震強　陳錦洪　陳鎭華
Advanced: Qu Zhenqiang, Chen Jinhong, Chen Zhenhua
中級：陳海儔　蔡肇濤　鍾松　鄭祥　吳有才　戴金城　李炎鑫
Intermediate: Chen Haichou, Cai Zhaotao, Zhong Song, Zheng Xiang, Wu Youcai, Dai Jincheng, Li Yanxin
初級：陳喜生　鄧金霞　葉烱財　康棉　周登　彭有　李志華　譚悅翕　呂錫貴　趙景　陳強　夏啓元　劉燦光　黃焜培　張顯　雷南山　李展雲
Beginner: Chen Xisheng, Deng Jinxia, Ye Jiongcai, Kang Mian, Zhou Deng, Peng You, Li Zhihua, Tan Yuexi, Lü Xigui, Zhao Jing, Chen Qiang, Xia Qiyuan, Liu Canguang, Huang Kunpei, Zhang Xian, Lei Nanshan, Li Zhanyun

■第四屆（一九五一年）
4th Session (1951)

高級：麥冠華　鍾松　姚勝　吳漢滔　吳文
Advanced: Mai Guanhua, Zhong Song, Yao Huangsheng, Wu Hantao, Wu Wen
初級：丁瑞光　林志超　劉廣智　鄧醒洪　楊泉昌　陳永昌　戴諒　嚴巨培　黃國泉　朱添　尹東　尹林　彭文　林悅喜　區健民　黃煊　李錫球　戴華達　周任民　李世安　戴紹球　戴漢樑　岑愷生　溫世海　曾廷輝　麥汝良　謝少峯　馮潤祥　劉永根　馮潤水
Beginner: Ding Ruiguang, Lin Zhichao, Liu Guangzhi, Deng Xinghong, Yang Quanchang, Chen Yongchang, Dai Liang, Yan Jupei, Huang Guoquan, Zhu Tian, Jun Dong, Jun Lin, Peng Wen, Lin Yuexi, Ou Jianmin, Huang Xuan, Li Xiqiu, Dai Huada, Zhou Renmin, Li Shi’an, Dai Shaoqiu, Dai Hanliang, Cen Kaisheng, Wen Shihai, Zeng Tinghui, Mai Ruliang, Xie Shaofeng, Feng Runxiang, Liu Yonggen, Feng Runshui

■第五屆（一九五二年）
5th Session (1952)

特級：陳錦洪
Expert: Chen Jinhong
高級：鄭祥　吳財　李炎鑫　戴金城
Advanced: Zheng Xiang, Wu Cai, Li Yanxin, Dai Jincheng
中級：陳喜生　康棉　李展雲　戴漢樑　李浩良　戴紹裘　雷南山　葉烱財　陳強
Intermediate: Chen Xisheng, Kang Mian, Li Zhanyun, Dai Hanliang, Li Haoliang, Dai Shaoqiu, Lei Nanshan, Ye Jiongcai, Chen Qiang
初級：黎藻淦　陳漢生　李啓芬　林偉明　陳世傑　古善枝　林幸盛　馮桂滔　梁金　陳卓　謝文　余旺　寥蘇
Beginner: Li Zaogan, Chen Hansheng, Li Qifen, Lin Weiming, Chen Shijie, Gu Shanzhi, Lin Xingcheng, Feng Guitao, Liang Jin, Chen Zhuo, Xie Wen, Yu Wang, Liao Su

■第六屆（一九五三年）
6th Session (1953)

高級：戴漢樑　戴紹裘
Advanced: Dai Hanliang, Dai Shaoqiu
中級：戴諒　黃國泉　周任民
Intermediate: Dai Liang, Huang Guoquan, Zhou Renmin
初級：蔡暖成　梁仲仁　李廷祥　李廷溥　劉耀增　馬柱輝　洪澤　何慶華　馮林　何德
Beginner: Cai Nuancheng, Liang Zhongren, Li Tingxiang, Li Tingpu, Liu Yaozeng, Ma Zhuhui, Hong Ze, He Qinghua, Feng Lin, He De

■第七屆（一九五四年）
7th Session (1954)

特級：戴金城　李炎鑫　姚勝　陳鎭華　鄭祥　麥冠華
Expert: Dai Jincheng, Li Yanxin, Yao Huangsheng, Chen Zhenhua, Zheng Xiang, Mai Guanhua
高級：李浩良　雷南山　鄭鉅堂　葉烱財　李展雲
Advanced: Li Haoliang, Lei Nanshan, Zheng Jutang, Ye Jiongcai, Li Zhanyun
中級：林志超　蔡其光　廖志峯　黎藻淦　黃煊　岑愷生
Intermediate: Lin Zhichao, Cai Qiguang, Liao Zhifeng, Li Zaogan, Huang Xuan, Cen Kaisheng
初級：黃漢超　馬冠駒　簡惠芳　譚以仁
Beginner: Huang Hanchao, Ma Guanju, Jian Huifang, Tan Yiren

■第八屆（一九五五年）
8th Session (1955)

中級：譚以仁　洪澤　何慶華　蔡暖成　黃漢超
Intermediate: Tan Yiren, Hong Ze, He Qinghua, Cai Nuancheng, Huang Hanchao
初級：蕭活泉　譚以禮　黃滿朝　林華暖　李禹鈞　陳家輝　何其磊　梁偉　嚴國雄　李桂蘭　李維　黃新強　莫榮宗　梁錦泮　梁添　李烱彬　梁國春
Beginner: Xiao Huoquan, Tan Yili, Huang Manchao, Lin Huanuan, Li Yujun, Chen Jiahui, He Qilei, Liang Wei, Yan Guoxiong, Li Guilan, Li Wei, Huang Xinqiang, Mo Rongzong, Liang Jinpan, Liang Tian, Li Jiongbin, Liang Guochun

■第九屆（一九五六年）
9th Session (1956)

特級：鄺巨堂
Expert: Kuang Jutang
高級：黎藻淦　潘標
Advanced: Li Zaogan, Pan Biao
初級：黃碧輝　梁宜海　黃玉葉　梁耀華　符榮基　譚以信　蘇少明
Beginner: Huang Bihui, Liang Yihai, Huang Yuye, Liang Yaohua, Fu Rongji, Tan Yixin, Su Shaoming

■第十屆（一九五七年）
10th Session (1957)

高級：洪澤　何慶華　黃漢超　譚以仁
Advanced: Hong Ze, He Qinghua, Huang Hanchao, Tan Yiren
中級：蕭活泉　譚以禮　黃滿朝　李禹鈞　梁偉　嚴國雄　李桂蘭　李烱彬
Intermediate: Xiao Huoquan, Tan Yili, Huang Manchao, Li Yujun, Liang Wei, Yan Guoxiong, Li Guilan, Li Jiongbin
初級：羅如璧　蔡樸均　陳炳欽
Beginner: Luo Rubi, Cai Pujun, Chen Bingqin

■第十一屆（一九五八年）
11th Session (1958)

高級：陳漢生
Advanced: Chen Hansheng
初級：關雲　翟泉　蔡尚斌　源斌祥　徐德珍　黃伯勵　張俠濤
Beginner: Guan Yun, Zhai Quan, Cai Shangbin, Yuan Binxiang, Xu Dezhen, Huang Boli, Zhang Xiatao

■第十二屆（一九五九年）
12th Session (1959)

特級：洪澤　黃漢超　何慶華
Expert: Hong Ze, Huang Hanchao, He Qinghua
高級：黃滿朝　蕭活泉
Advanced: Huang Manchao, Xiao Huoquan
中級：陳紹偉　陳炳欽　梁宜海　蔡樸均
Intermediate: Chen Shaowei, Chen Bingqin, Liang Yihai, Cai Pujun
初級：黃昌　龍活虎　戴超　謝祺常　甘文俊　鄭強毅　李煒標
Beginner: Huang Chang, Long Huohu, Dai Chao, Xie Qichang, Gan Wenjun, Zheng Qiangyi, Li Weibiao

■第十三屆（一九六〇年）
13th Session (1960)

特級：雷南山
Expert: Lei Nanshan
高級：蘇少明　黃玉葉
Advanced: Su Shaoming, Huang Yuye
中級：關雲　張俠濤　源斌祥　徐德珍　蔡尚斌
Intermediate: Guan Yun, Zhang Xiatao, Yuan Binxiang, Xu Dezhen, Cai Shangbin
初級：黎勇維　胡聖佑
Beginner: Li Yongwei, Hu Shengyou

■第十四屆（一九六一）
14th Session (1961)

特級：蕭活泉　黃滿朝
Expert: Xiao Huoquan, Huang Manchao
高級：梁宜海　蔡樸均　陳炳欽
Advanced: Liang Yihai, Cai Pujun, Chen Bingqin
中級：謝祺常　黃昌　李煒標
Intermediate: Xie Qichang, Huang Chang, Li Weibiao
初級：甄耀財　袁秉權　源汶湝　余蔭梧　何仍桂　何有為　何家龍　江景培　唐國華　伍棣榮　林錦棠　何顯威
Beginner: Zhen Yaocai, Yuan Bingquan, Yuan Wenjie, Yu Yinwu, He Renggui, He Youwei, He Jialong, Jiang Jingpei, Tang Guohua, Wu Dirong, Lin Jintang, He Xianwei

■第十五屆（一九六二年）
15th Session (1962)

特級：蘇少明
Expert: Su Shaoming
高級：關雲　張俠濤　蔡尚斌
Advanced: Guan Yun, Zhang Xiatao, Cai Shangbin
中級：胡聖佑
Intermediate: Hu Shengyou

■第十六屆（一九六三年）
16th Session (1963)

高級：李煒標
Advanced: Li Weibiao
中級：何仍桂　何有為　袁秉權　余蔭梧　劉國輝　源汶湝
Intermediate: He Renggui, He Youwei, Yuan Bingquan, Yu Yinwu, Liu Guohui, Yuan Wenjie
初級：梁文　林孝傑　羅潤　李賢　駱振強　鄧維賢　陳振聲　韋耀　鄧錦昌　余伯寬
Beginner: Liang Wen, Lin Xiaojie, Luo Run, Li Xian, Luo Zhenqiang, Deng Weixian, Chen Zhensheng, Wei Yao, Deng Jinchang, Yu Bokuan

■第十七屆（一九六四年）
17th Session (1964)

特級：關雲
Expert: Guan Yun

■第十八屆（一九六五年）
18th Session (1965)

特級：譚以仁
Expert: Tan Yiren
高級：袁秉權　劉國輝　胡聖佑
Advanced: Yuan Bingquan, Liu Guohui, Hu Shengyou
中級：梁文　林孝傑　羅潤　李賢　鄧維賢　鄧錦昌　黃文階
Intermediate: Liang Wen, Lin Xiaojie, Luo Run, Li Xian, Deng Weixian, Deng Jinchang, Huang Wenjie
初級：何有威　方煥曾　李卓文　羅自強　何祥　黃永烈　連校昌　黃鏡波
Beginner: He Youwei, Fang Huanceng, Li Zhuowen, Luo Ziqiang, He Xiang, Huang Yonglie, Lian Xiaochang, Huang Jingbo

■第十九屆（一九六六年）
19th Session (1966)

初級：譚銘勛　翁鴻焯　蘇振昌　戴子興　黃德望
Beginner: Tan Mingxun, Weng Hongchao, Su Zhenchang, Dai Zixing, Huang Dewang

■第二十屆（一九六七年）
20th Session (1967)

特級：胡聖佑　袁秉權
Expert: Hu Shengyou, Yuan Bingquan
高級：梁文　鄧維賢　林孝傑　黃文階　李賢　鄧錦昌
Advanced: Liang Wen, Deng Weixian, Lin Xiaojie, Huang Wenjie, Li Xian, Deng Jinchang
中級：何有威　羅自強　黃永烈　黃鏡波
Intermediate: He Youwei, Luo Ziqiang, Huang Yonglie, Huang Jingbo
初級：湯獎沛　陳慶棠　何振寧　顏兆林　朱讓德　錢波　謝炳桂　張起俊　禤紹燦　張志新　郭錦彬　李國深　陳金泰　郭景文　黃協昌　謝淸洲　陳鐵如　許添良　黃志邦　陳業宏　羅永年　黃洪鴻　黃華治　張芝強　蘇世民　林貞明　陳應安　陳潤光　郭大甫
Beginner: Tang Jiangpei, Chen Qingtang, He Zhenning, Yan Zhaolin, Zhu Rangde, Qian Bo, Xie Binggui, Zhang Qijun, Ta Shaocan, Zhang Zhixin, Guo Jinbin, Li Guoshen, Chen Jintai, Guo Jingwen, Huang Xiechang, Xie Qingzhou, Chen Tieru, Xu Tianliang, Huang Zhibang, Chen Yehong, Luo Yongnian, Huang Honghong, Huang Huazhi, Zhang Zhiqiang, Su Shimin, Lin Zhenming, Chen Ying’an, Chen Runguang, Guo Dafu

■第二十一屆（一九六八年）
21st Session (1968)

中級：譚銘勛　黃德望　戴子興
Intermediate: Tan Mingxun, Huang Dewang, Dai Zixing
初級：程子傑　麥順邦　黃洪英　吳廣源
Beginner: Cheng Zijie, Mai Shunbang, Huang Hongying, Wu Guangyuan

■第二十二屆（一九六九年）
22nd Session (1969)

特級：梁文　鄧維賢　林孝傑
Expert: Liang Wen, Deng Weixian, Lin Xiaojie
高級：何有威　羅自強　黃永烈　黃鏡波
Advanced: He Youwei, Luo Ziqiang, Huang Yonglie, Huang Jingbo
中級：陳慶棠　何振寧　朱讓德　錢波　禤紹燦　黃協昌　謝淸洲　陳鐵如　許添良　陳業宏　羅永年　張芝強　蘇世民　蕭炳初　黎達沖（美國）
Intermediate: Chen Qingtang, He Zhenning, Zhu Rangde, Qian Bo, Ta Shaocan, Huang Xiechang, Xie Qingzhou, Chen Tieru, Xu Tianliang, Chen Yehong, Luo Yongnian, Zhang Zhiqiang, Su Shimin, Xiao Bingchu, Li Dachong (American)
初級：方秋燕　譚偉雄　譚偉權　譚偉謀　譚偉象　何國垣　程金全　簡潤洪　余乃洪　呂國泰　陳世強　劉南洋　梁志忠　鄭龍川　徐長根　梁以能　趙克明　崔漢基　黎源章　周麟　周文傳（美、黎）　梁達成（美、黎）　黃健錚（美、黎）　方國倫（美、黎）　張仲強（美、黎）　何兆基（美、黎）　馬丁高馬利奧（美、黎）　馬丁高亞倫（美、黎）
Beginner: Fang Qiuyan, Tan Weixiong, Tan Weiquan, Tan Weimou, Tan Weixiang, He Guoyuan, Cheng Jinquan, Jian Runhong, Yu Naihong, Lü Guotai, Chen Shiqiang, Liu Nanyang, Liang Zhizhong, Zheng Longchuan, Xu Changgen, Liang Yineng, Zhao Keming, Cui Hanji, Li Yuanzhang, Zhou Lin, Zhou Wenchuan (US Li), Liang Dacheng (US Li), Huang Jianzheng (US Li), Fang Guolun (US Li), Zhang Zhongqiang (US Li), He Zhaoji (US Li), Mario MacDonald (US Li), Aaron MacDonald (US Li)
註：美、鄺——美國鄺鉅堂君門下　美、黎——美國黎達沖君門下
(Note: “US Li” means student of Li Dachong, “US Kuang” means student of Kuang Jutang.)

■第二十三屆（一九七〇年）
23rd Session (1970)

特級：黃文階　劉國輝
Expert: Huang Wenjie, Liu Guohui
高級：戴子興　禤紹燦　謝淸洲　蘇世民　黃協昌
Advanced: Dai Zixing, Ta Shaocan, Xie Qingzhou, Su Shimin, Huang Xiechang
中級：余乃洪　黃洪英　吳廣源　陳應安　麥順邦　鄭龍川　徐長根
Intermediate: Yu Naihong, Huang Hongying, Wu Guangyuan, Chen Ying’an, Mai Shunbang, Zheng Longchuan, Xu Changgen
初級：林文錦（美、鄺）　林文銘（美、鄺）　黃志強　徐長喜　葉錦輝　蕭楚山　王偉雄　譚興盛　容蔭怡　伍國明　謝楚洲　馬偉祥　蕭志發　黃進源　蕭景雨　劉桂　李昆池　李輝煌　方效石
Beginner: Lin Wenjin (US Kuang), Lin Wenming (US Kuang), Huang Zhiqiang, Xu Changxi, Ye Jinhui, Xiao Chushan, Wang Weixiong, Tan Xingsheng, Rong Yinyi, Wu Guoming, Xie Chuzhou, Ma Weixiang, Xiao Zhifa, Huang Jinyuan, Xiao Jingyu, Liu Gui, Li Kunchi, Li Huihuang, Fang Xiaoshi

■第二十四屆（一九七一年）
24th Session (1971)

高級：黎達沖
Advanced: Li Dachong
中級：張仲強（美、鄺）　黃健錚（美、鄺）
Intermediate: Zhang Zhongqiang (US Kuang), Huang Jianzheng (US Kuang)
初級：盧楚潮（美、鄺）　李耀榮（美、黎）　黃樹光（美、黎）　ALDEN SEID（美、黎）　GARY E. LANZA（美、黎）　JOSEPH ROGER SORIANO（美、黎）　DAVID ARTHUR LANG（美、黎）　BRIGIDE VILLALON（美、黎）　JACKSON SEAN MERCER（美、黎）　LARRY LEE JOHNSON（美、黎）
Beginner: Lu Chuchao (US Kuang), Li Yaorong (US Li), Huang Shuguang (US Li), Alden Seid (US Li), Gary E. Lanza (US Li), Joseph Roger Soriano (US Li), David Arthur Lang (US Li), Brigide Villalon (US Li), Jackson Sean Mercer (US Li), Larry Lee Johnson (US Li)

■第二十五屆（一九七二年）
25th Session (1972)

特級：黃鵬英　禤紹燦　黃協昌　葉烱財　葉世民　謝淸洲　戴子興
Expert: Huang Pengying, Ta Shaocan, Huang Xiechang, Ye Jiongcai, Ye Shimin, Xie Qingzhou, Dai Zixing
高級：黃洪英　黃毅英
Advanced: Huang Hongying, Huang Yiying
中級：譚偉雄　譚偉謀　譚偉象　葉錦輝　劉桂　李昆池　黃進源　方效石
Intermediate: Tan Weixiong, Tan Weimou, Tan Weixiang, Ye Jinhui, Liu Gui, Li Kunchi, Huang Jinyuan, Fang Xiaoshi
初級：劉慧明　黃志豪　潘錦標　駱錦佳　袁耀流　霍滿芬
Beginner: Liu Huiming, Huang Zhihao, Pan Jinbiao, Luo Jinjia, Yuan Yaoliu, Huo Manfen

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拳套講義圖解
FOUR PRACTICE SETS WITH PHOTOS & INSTRUCTIONS:

（一）螳螂偷桃
1. Mantis Steals a Peach

（二）飛雁掌
2. Flying Goose Palms

（三）落鷹掌
3. Descending Eagle Palms

（四）醉酒地躺單刀
4. Drunken Groundwork Saber

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編後話
EDITORS’ POSTSCRIPT

文階鵬英等不才荷蒙編輯委員會委以專責編輯本刊，惟以海外同人至衆，徵集文稿未克一呼而至，且限於經驗與環境，以致稽延至今始能草草編成付梓。本刊荷承社會賢達賜予題字，令本刊增光不少，復得各同學惠來鴻文，使本刊更為充實。更蒙黃師將保存多年歷史性相片給與選擇並親撰珍貴而翔實之史料多篇使本刊對螳螂門能作出更大更多之貢獻，在此一併致謝。但編排未善及錯漏之處在所難免，尚希邦人君子鑒願是幸。
編輯：黃文階黃鵬英　校訂：黃子英　一九七二年四月二日
Huang Wenjie, Huang Pengying, and myself were entrusted by the editing committee with the responsibility of putting together the material for this book. Because many of our colleagues have been teaching abroad, there was no way to simply make a general request for manuscripts and be able to receive them all at once. Taking into account limitations in terms of their experience and surroundings, there was naturally a delay in being able to finish the book and hand it over to the printers.
　　This book has been beautifully decorated by gifts of calligraphy from prominent members of society and has been substantially enriched by literary contributions from fellow students. Furthermore, Master Huang himself selected and presented us with many photos of historical significance, and also personally composed several priceless and detailed articles about the history of the art, making this an even bigger and better contribution to Mantis Boxing. To all of these people, we extend our gratitude. Alas, it is inevitable that this book is in some ways incomplete or contains errors, and we hope our fellow countrymen will forgive this.
　　- written by proofreader Huang Ziying, with editors Huang Wenjie and Huang Pengying, April 2, 1972

[An acknowledgement for financial contributions:]

本刋所需印刷費，近七千元，除譚以仁，雷南山，黃文階，余乃洪，劉國輝五位同學合助千元及旅美當教同學黃漢超、鄺鉅堂、黎達沖合助壹仟元與各同學認訂外，不敷之數達弍千元悉由黃師支付。謹此致謝
財務委員禢紹燦謝清洲同啓
The printing fee for this publication was almost HK$7000. A thousand was contributed by fellow students Tan Yiren, Lei Nanshan, Huang Wenjie, Yu Naihong, and Liu Guohui. Another thousand was contributed by fellow students currently teaching in America: Huang Hanchao, Kuang Jutang, and Li Dachong. After various other fellow students chipped in, a further two thousand was still needed, which was then covered by Master Huang himself. Our sincere acknowledgement is extended to all of these people.
　　- financial affairs committee members Ta Shaocan and Xie Qingzhou

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