Hong Quan anyone?

[Sal Canzonieri]

Here's some interesting info I gathered recently about Hong Quan styles in general.
If you can add anything to this it would be much appreciated!

According to these sources:

# 陕西红拳要重振昔日辉煌 Shaanxi hongquan yao chongzhen xiri huihuang article published in the newspaper Xi'an wanbao 西安晚报 the March 27, 2006

# José Carmona, De Shaolin à Wudang, les arts martiaux chinois, Gui Trenadiel editeur. ISBN 2.844445.085.7 ISBN 2.844445.085.7

# Hu Guangfeng 胡光锋, Tujie dahongquan St. huang bang 图解大洪拳三晃膀 series of articles published in 2005 in the journal Jingwu 精武.

# 沛县武当洪拳源流 Peixian wudang hongquan yuanliu

# Peixian Wushu Zhi 沛县武术志 , Peixian , 2000

# Emeipai wushu ba da men 峨眉派武术八大门 Wushu

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definition of Hong Quan:

The name is made with different ideograms: Hong quan 红拳, Boxing red; 洪拳Hongquan, the Boxing great wave; Hong quan 鸿拳, Boxing Wild Swan or Vast. This is a very old style and so there are many different versions sometimes among themselves, among others: Shaanxi Hongquan 陕西红拳 Boxing red of Shaanxi; Da Hongquan 大洪拳; Xiao Hongquan 小洪拳; Er Hongquan 二洪拳; Etc..

It is said that the Taolu of Hongquan and of Paochui 炮锤 have taken much from a war dance (Tiao wu paida 跳拍打舞) of a palace guard of the King of Qin 秦, Yingzheng 嬴政, who created it to celebrate his victories during the period the springs and autumns (Chunqiu 嬴政, 777-476 BC).

The Hongquan is considered the basis of the Song dynasty's Chang quan Song Taizu 太祖 Zhao Kuangyin 赵匡胤 (927-976).

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The various styles:


Da Hong quan 大洪拳

The legend of the founding of this style traces the origins at the Sui dynasty by Hong Xian 鸿仙. During the Tang Dynasty, there are historical documents that attest that a teacher of Jilin, Liu Fengguai 刘风拐 (also known as Liu Banxiang 刘半响), taught a boxing divided into six sections that has been identified with the Taolu known as Liu bu jia 六步架, the basic structure of the Hongquan. In the xinshu 纪效新书 of the famous of General Qi Jiguang 戚继光 says "in the boxing family's dynasty of Song Taizu's 32 shi changquan 三十二势长拳, there is also the Liubuquan六步拳, the Hou quan 猴拳 (monkey boxing), the Hua quan 化拳 . . .". The Liubuquan is identified with the Liubujia. During the Song dynasty, the Yuan dynasty, and the Ming dynasty Liubujia has spread dramatically in the basin of the Yellow River, giving life to many variations. Lao yang area practices this Da Hong Quan still today.

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Wudang Hongquan 武当洪拳

According to the legend of its foundation, this style was created by a Taoist monk on Wudang Mountain during the Song dynasty. As the name of this monk from Hong 洪 was his secular family name, the style was called Hongquan Wudang. Among the empty hand forms are included the: 关东架 Guan dong jia (frame passes to the east); 关西架 Guan xi jia (frame passes to the west); 太平架 Tai ping jia (frame of peace Supreme or Grand Level);十八路对练打捶 18 lu dui lian da chui;三十六摔 shuai 36;七十二擒拿手qinna shou 72; 抓门道功夫 Zhao men dao gongfu; etc..

Among the weapons forms are: dan dao 单刀; Shuang guai 双拐; Shou shao zi 手梢子; Si jie tang 四节镗; Chun qiu da dao 春秋大刀; Etc..

Also, two froms from this style Guandongjia and Guanxijia correspond to two forms created by Song Taizu, respectively三十六路长拳 36 lu Chang quan and 三百六十六手长拳 366 shou Changquan. There is a correspondence of movements and correspondence of many names in the Taolu with the Shaanxi Hongquan, despite their claim that the origins are different, indicating that they share a common origin.

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Shaanxi Hong Quan 陕西红拳

This style which originated in the Song Dynasty is considered by many to be the main branch from which have developed all the others. During the reign of Daoguang (1821-51), it had four teachers who have contributed to its growth: Gao San 高三 called "the falcon" 鹞子; Xing San 邢三called "black tiger"黑虎; Si Baolong 司宝龙, and Li Si 李四. The training includes the study of many Tao lu: Xiao Hongquan 小红拳; Da Hongquan 大红拳; Zhong Hongquan 中红拳; Lao Hongquan 老红拳; Taizu Hongquan 太祖红拳; Er Hongquan 二红拳; Guanxiquan 关西拳; Etc. The main weapons are the Gun (staff) 棍, Bian (whip stick) 鞭, and Shuang dao 双刀 (double swords)

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HONG QUAN or "BOXING CLAN OF HONG" or "RED BOXING" from Shanxi is said to be founded by Gao San (or San Gao) at the end of the seventeenth century. Would have been created by a secret association during the reign of Qing. Places emphasis on postures powerful and stable on the strength given by the kicks and punches. Mimics several animals: the dragon, the snake, tiger, leopard, crane, monkeys and horses. Use the spear and the stick. Influenced by Shaolin schools and Wudang Zhao Men School (imported from Emei).

(This might be the same as Shaanxi Hong Quan, I think that people are mixing up Shanxi and Shaanxi, since the same person Gao San is involved, unless he went to both provinces, which are neighbors of Sichuan where he was originally from.

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Shaolin Hongquan 少林洪拳

In the book "Shaolin quanfa"少林拳法 states that during the time of the Yuan dynasty Jue Yuan 觉远 was visiting Bai Yufeng 白玉峰 and later introduced into the temple Bai's teaching, and mastery of Xiao Da Hongquan, of the gun (gunshu 棍术), Qinna 擒拿, etc.. This is the origin of the two Taolu currently practiced in the Songshan Shaolin schools.

Bai Yufeng, Jue Yuan, and Li Sou played important roles; Jue Yuan was a layman who took a fancy to Wushu. Later he became a monk at the Shaolin Temple, dedicating himself to the study of boxing positions and diligent practice. Soon he started his search for other famous masters.

In Gansu Province in the west of China, in the city of Lanzhou, he met Li Sou ("old man"), a master of "flood fist" Hóngquán. Li Sou accompanied Jue Yuan back to Henan, to Luoyang to introduce Jueyuan to Bai Yu-feng, who was born in Shanxi province, at Taiyuan. Bai was a master of an internal method from Luo yang Tong Fu Chan Si Monastery. He practiced the Ji Ji Tai Dou internal boxing style. The three of them, plus Li's son, went to the Shaolin.

Jue and Bai Yufeng developed the “18 Stuffs of Arhat”, increasing the number of forms from 18 to 72, and then to 173. They collected fragments of almost completely neglected patterns, put them to order and perfected them. Bai Yufeng also created the Imitation Boxing which mimicked the movements of the tiger, the leopard, the snake, the crane, and the dragon and other animals for a total of 12. 10 were preserved and the others were not finished by the time of his death.

Li Sou was also very skilled at martial arts, especially at Xiao Hong, Da Hong, and cudgel. His forms were frequently taught at the Shaolin Temple. Li Sou left his Xiao and Da Hong Quan to Shaolin, which are still practiced to this day. After ten years of mutual study and research, Li Sou left Shaolin; Bai Yu-Feng decided to stay in Shaolin and became a monk and chief librarian there. Bai Yu-Feng's monk name was Qiu Yue Chan Shi. Qiu Yue Chan Shi is known for his barehand fighting and narrow blade sword techniques. Jue Yuan (along with his student Yi Chuan) went to Guilin in Guangxi province (at the place of Yangshou) to meet Bai's teacher Ma Zi-Long, master of Ji Ji Tai Dou, who still practiced internal nei gong that was originally from Shaolin but now lost. They studied together at Jing Yun Shi monestary.

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Erlu Hongquan style: The Red fist in two parts (not flood character)

Huang Baoshan (1905-1998), of Gansu, represented the third generation of this style. He learned it in the Shandong province, the birthplace of this two form style.
In the red fist history, it is said that Zhao Kuang Yin, the first emperor of the Song Dynasty had created it; But the real time for the systematization of the style is most probably recorded in the Qing Dynasty (1368-1911). At the 13 year of the Kangxi emperor reign (1674), the red fist had been created between the provinces of Shandong and Shanxi.

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Hubei Hong Quan

Most of the routines of the Hubei Hong Quan are hand plays, such as the general hand plays, defensive hand plays, Jingang (Buddha's warrior attendant) hand plays, etc. Influenced by the Wudang-style Quan, one of the famous schools in China, the Hubei Hong Chuan also includes newly developed routines called Jiugong-shou, nine-palace hand plays, and Laojuntang, the Hall for Laozi, founder of Taoism. Two-way spear holding plays are the main methods to deal with the Hubei Hong Quan, which emphasizes both attack and defence.

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Guangdong (Canton) Hong Quan

The Guangdong Hong Quan is a routine of animal imitating movements of the dragon, snake, tiger, leopard, crane, lion, elephant, horse, monkey, and small-sized wild beasts (cat, etc.).

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Shandong Hong Quan

Muslim Hong Quan sets that come originally from Western China, these sets are now done as part of the familiar Cha (Zha) Quan system in Shandong and other areas.

They have their own Xiao, Da, and other Hong Quan sets, which are pretty much variants of Zha Quan stuff.