TOM TOY: Springing Legs

 THEIR HISTORY AND RELATION TO SHAOLIN

The Hui Peoples

A little known fact about China is that it houses the second largest Moslem population in the world. These people are called the Hui and number about fourteen million. During the 10th Century (the Song Dynasty - 960 to 1279 AD), many Persians and Arabs traveled to and from China. Eventually, some of these people made permanent settlements and intermingled with the various Chinese peoples they encountered (China contains about 55 different minority groups), causing the Islamic religion to spread to various parts of China. By the 13th Century, the Hui were widely scattered throughout China, but many mostly Moslem communities emerged in the Northern regions, particularly in the Henan, Hebei, Shangtung, and Shanxi provinces.

Embracing of Chinese Martial Arts One of the things that the Hui people embraced most about China was its martial arts traditions. The Hui were a hardy and courageous people, surviving the long and perilous journey from the Persian (Iraqi/Iranian) Middle Eastern lands. The Hui quickly took a liking to ancient Chinese wu shu (such as Shuai Chiao or Chinese Grappling, Pao Quan, Tong Bei Quan, Liu Ho Quan, Tai Tzu Chang Quan, Ba Ji Quan, Pi Qua Quan, etc.) and worked long and hard at excelling in it. Eventually they developed their own unique styles of wu shu (such as the Cha Quan, Hua Quan, 10 Routine Tom Toy, Liu Lu Duan Quan, Toi Quan, Yong Chan Quan, and others) by assimilating the various styles of Chinese wu shu that were indigenous to the North.

Before the invention of guns, kung fu was the major means of combat and self defense in China. The Hui chiefs called upon their people to learn kung fu as a "holy practice" in order to help foster discipline and bravery during their struggle for survival in their adopted land. Even today, during their holy days of Lesser Bairam (festival of fast breaking), Corban, and the Prophet's Birthday, the Hui people gather at their local mosques and hold wu shu contests and exhibitions. In the past, many of the Hui joined the Chinese military and had illustrious careers in it, often rising to the rank of General. Also, because of this, many Hui were fiercely loyal about supporting the various Chinese Emperors, even though the Hui were of foreign origin.

After the Mongolians had taken over China, forming the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), many Chinese loyalists schemed to bring back the throne to China. A peasant uprising finally succeeded in uniting the Chinese people against their Mongol invaders. The rebellion was led by Zhu Yuan Zhang, who toppled the Mongolian imperial court and founded the much beloved Ming Dynasty, becoming its first emperor. Fighting with him were some of China's most famous generals (i.e., Chang Yu Chun, Hu Da Hai, Mu Ying, Lan Yu, Feng Sheng, and Ding De Xing), who were all Hui Moslem wu shu experts. Chang Yu Chan became famous for founding a spear fighting method that is still taught today, the famous "kai ping qiang fa".

During the turmoil of the later Ming Dynasty period (1368- 1644), when the invading Manchu tribe made many raids on the Chinese empire and eventually took it over, many Hui fought sought by side with the Chinese Han people in rebellions against the Manchu Ching Dynasty. Ma Shou Ying, a Hui Moslem, together with Li Zi Cheng (King Chuang) participated in the rebellion, leading a troop of mostly Moslem peasants. Ma was called "Lao Hui Hui", meaning "Hui the Senior" and his troops were called the "Lao Hui Hui Battalion". Even after the Manchu succeeded in controlling China, the Hui fought against them. In 1862, Du Wen Xiu lead an uprising of the Hui people in Yunnan Province (against Ching Emperor Tong Zhi) and swept over a dozen provinces in southwest and northwest China.

Because of the Hui's continued loyalty to the Chinese Empire, throughout the Ching Dynasty (1644-1911), the Hui were treated cruelly and ruthlessly suppressed whenever they showed the least bit of malcontent against the Manchu rulers. It was made forbidden for three or more Huis to walk together with weapons on them or they would be severely punished. If any Huis were caught committing crimes, they were tattooed on their faces with the characters "Hui zui" ("Hui rebel"). This punishment was meant to humiliate the Hui while at the same time serving to intimidate them from further rebellious actions. But, suppression only served to make the Hui people more determined than ever.

After the Ming Dynasty, in opposition to the martial arts prohibition forced upon by the Manchurian Ching Dynasty, many Hui kung fu masters developed their own schools of kung fu that continue to exist to this day. The contributions of these Hui wu shu masters have been far reaching and embraced by many styles of Chinese kung fu. In the Jixiao Xinshu, written by the famous Ming military strategist Qi Ji Guang, three famous spear schools are listed (the Yang, Ma, and Sha families). Both the Ma and Sha families were Hui. These spear methods are still taught today among their family descendants. Also, the "Hui Hui Shi Ba Zou" (18 fist fighting exercises of the Hui) was considered to be the very best in combat exercises. The noted anti-Ching public figure Gan Feng Chi included the exercises in his book Hua Quan Zong Jiang Fa (A General Talk on Flower Boxing).

There have been many famous Hui wu shu martial artists, with them often winning national wu shu competitions that were open to all styles. Wang Zi Ping (1881-1973) was a very famous Cha Quan master and he won honors by defeating many foreigners in wu shu contests with his swift and fierce attacks, while representing China. Wang was vice-president of the Chinese Wu Shu Association. At 80 years of age, he accompanied the later Premier Chou En Lai on his visit to Burma and gave an exhibition that astounded the audience with his dexterity and vigor. Ma Fengtu set up the patriotic China Warriors Society (in 1919). His brother Ma Yingtu won the title at the first national wu shu contest held in 1929. Chang Wen Quang was another great Cha Quan master, winning many tournaments. In 1936, he attended the 11th Olympics Games in Berlin as a specially invited member of the Chinese Wu Shu team. There he gave demonstrations of various routines from the Cha Quan style. He later became vice-president of the National Wu Shu Association.

The Shaolin Temple even adopted the Hoi people's Tom Toy (springing leg) style of wu shu as a training form to develop the legs and stamina of it students, as did many other Northern and Southern schools of kung fu. It is a common saying in traditional Chinese kung fu circles that "If your Tom Toy is good, then you're kung fu is good", because mastering the demands of Tom Toy allowed one to master the basic fundamentals of kung fu in general. The Hui's Tom Toy became very popular all over China, leading to another saying, " From Nanking to Beijing, the best players of the lower-leg exercises come from Islamic religious circles". The Cha Quan and Hua Quan boxing styles that are today enjoyed by Northern Long Fist schools also were developed by the Hui peoples. Other styles developed or adopted by the Huis are Ba Ji Quan (Eight Diagram Boxing, handed down by the Moslem Wu Zhong), Liu He (six combination) spear, Liu He Quan, Hebei Xing I Quan, Tong Bei Quan, Pi Qua Quan, and Liu He Ba Fa. There are conflicting but similar origin stories between the Cha/Hua Quan styles and the Tom Toy style.

According to the Cha family boxing chronicles, Cha Quan is a popular and very old Northern Chinese fighting style, originating around the same time as Shaolin was developing. The style is based on quick, agile movements interspersed with sudden stops and steady still stances, performers are said to be "now moving like the wind, now standing nailed to the ground." During the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), the Emperor sent a military crusade on an expedition to eastern China, to fight off foreign invaders. When the army reached Guanxian County in present day Shangtung Province, a young general (and Hui Moslem) named Hua Zong Qi was forced to remain behind to recuperate from serious wounds. When he recovered, he was most grateful to the villagers who cared for him, and he decided to teach the local people his martial art, which he called Jianzi Quan (Frame Boxing).

A great number of people became his followers due to his good wu shu skills and earnest teaching methods. Soon, his classes grew so big that he sent for his senior student from his home town to help him, Cha Yuan Yi. Cha was quite proficient at martial arts as well, but his Jianzi Quan had a different emphasis than that of General Hua's. Hua's version had fully extended movements and was called Da Jia Quan (big frame boxing); Cha's version had fast, compact movements and was called Xiao Jia Quan (small frame boxing).

The two versions were taught as one style. The villagers discontinued the Jianzi Quan name and instead called the style, Cha-Hua Boxing. The Hua version had 4 routines (or forms) that were long and full of varied tricky moves. The names of the four forms are known simply as Hua Quan 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Lu. The Cha version had 10 routines of varying lengths and complexity. Many of the Cha routines are used today in various Northern long fist schools, especially the 4th Routine and 5th Routine. Both versions have made a huge influence on the modern Chang Quan (long fist) practiced in China today, which has chosen to use many of the techniques from the Hui style.

By the time of the Ching Dynasty, under the reign of Emperor Qian Long (1736-1795), the Cha-Hua style became divided into three technical schools at Guanxian County and Rencheng County in Shangtung Province. The Zhang style, represented by Zhang Qi Wei from Zhangyin Village at Guanxian, is fast, agile, and more compact. The Yang style, represented by Yang Hongxiu from the southern part of Guanxian, is more upright, comfortable, and graceful in execution. The Li style, represented by Li Enju from Jining, is more powerful, continuous, and direct.

The general characteristics of the Cha-Hua style are that its movements and techniques are graceful, easy, clear, continuous, and rhythmic in execution. Strength and force is generated abruptly and there is economical use of energy. The boxing method stresses using both the hands and feet at the same time when executing fighting movements. Continuous attacks are employed, combined with various tricky moves to evade and deceive the opponent, in order to quickly overcome the enemy.

The Tom Toy or "springing leg" style is more modern in origin, said to be developed during the Ming Dynasty. (1368- 1644). Ten Routine Tom Toy is one of the most favorite martial arts enjoyed by the Hui peoples. Tom Toy was said to be developed by a Hui native of Xinjiang, in Northwest China, named Cha Shang Yir. His Moslem name was Chamir and he lived from 1568 to 1644. In the mid period of his life, the Chinese coast in Fukien and Zhejiang Provinces was besieged by Japanese pirates. Ming Dynasty rules had amassed troops to fight back these invaders. Chamir joined the army to be part of this crusade. The troops had to march on foot a long way to get to the southeast under very harsh conditions. While climbing mountains and crossing rivers, Chamir contracted a strong illness due to the coldness and wetness. He was left behind to recuperate in a mountain village in Guanxian County in Shangtung Province.

He was treated and cared for by the villagers for a few months. When he was fully recovered, being the Autumn season, he noticed that the local peasant villagers had finished their harvesting and were now practicing riding and shooting. Chamir, in wishing to repay them for the hospitality and caring they showed him, offered to teach the villagers the Tom Toy and 10 Routine Boxing that he had developed and performed for many years. The villagers welcomed his martial arts lessons and many people came to learn from Chamir. Over time, the villagers called his boxing style, Cha Quan. The boxing style originally consisted of 28 routines, which were put in alphabetical order, according to the Arabic language commonly used by the Hui. Later, the 28 routines were synthesized into the 10 Routine Tom Toy known today.

The Shaolin Monks of Honan added Tom Toy into the 4 main styles taught at their temple. The 4 courts as they were called were different sections of the temple that taught kung fu. Court #1 taught Bak Sil Lum Pai or Northern Shaolin style, Court #2 taught Ying Jow Pai or Eagle Claw style, Court #3 taught Tang Lang Pai or Praying Mantis style and Court #4 taught Mi Tsung Lohan Pai or Lost Track of Buddha’s Disciples. Each section emphasized a different employment of techniques and had it’s own unique variation of the Tom Toy form. Even though it no longer teaches traditional 4 systems, the Shaolin temple still teaches a 10, 12 and 24 set of Tom Toys.

Today, the Tom Toy routines have been added to the curriculum of most martial arts schools. The 12 Tom Toy version taught by the Jing Wu Association has become the most famous and widely practiced throughout the world. It is considered a prerequisite for all beginners in the Chinese martial arts and serves to lay the foundation for all the essential basic elements of one's wu shu kung fu practices. All the techniques and movements employed by the Tom Toy style can be found in all styles of long fist/ long range fighting. Thus, by mastering the Tom Toy form, one is able to master traditional Chinese kung fu in general and is able to progress and learn many other forms.

The Tom Toy forms build up the body due to its strenuous demands for low body height, precise movements, and forceful execution. Also, it teaches such combat skills as springing, kicking, stamping, sweeping, thrusting, grappling, punching, pushing, hooking, sticking, etc. Body mechanics are coordinated so that maximum force is issued with smooth effectiveness and efficiency. The waist is used as an axis to set the upper and lower limbs moving in coordinating movements. Relaxation is emphasized in posing correct postures, coordinating various parts of the body, exerting force smoothly, and making nimble movements. Through relaxed, smooth exertion, force can be quickly concentrated on the striking point, so that there appears a sudden springing or snap force that is produced as the movement picks up speed and then a sudden tightening of the muscles is made at the instant of force exertion.

If you really want to become proficient in your kung fu skill, then you must go back to your Tom Toy and work them diligently.