Uploaded November 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
instructor: monks Yan Min and Heng Wei
__________________
- "attack" strategy (攻略):
sensitive points are mostly guarded. for attack, you should seek or make an openness in opponent's closed guard. relative to a guard, there are 4 types of areas to attack:
tactic 9 - 'open-area attack':
"befriend the far, attack the neighbor (远交近攻)" – when the opponent puts part of his body openly close to you, it is an easy target, attack it as heavily as possible.
– more detail in ground-attack and counterattack tactics.
tactic 10 - 'guard-area attack':
"borrow a way to attack the city (假道伐虢)" – seek an openness or open a way to penetrate opponent's guard. as the saying goes, 'hands open doors for the legs.' hands are accurate and versatile, while legs have more range and power and are armored with shoes. hands open opponent's guard, legs break him.
tactic 11 - 'shift-area attack':
"prepare the way in the light, conquer the city in the dark (明修栈道, 暗渡陈仓)" – when you attack, the opponent opposes by shifting guard and so leaves other areas open. bypass your attack to those opened areas.
– more detail in ground-attack and feinting tactics.
tactic 12 - 'left-area (counter)attack':
"besiege enemy capital to relieve your city (围魏救赵)" – when the opponent's guard is engaged in attacking, mostly when he wrestles or catches you, the most vulnerable parts of his body (the groins, eyes, fingers, shins, etc.) are left open. instead of direct opposition–which requires much force and has a low chance of success–attack these sensitive open parts.
– more detail in counterattack tactics.
these involve opening and penetrating or bypassing moves of the limbs. in this style, every major move is preceded by an opening move and may change into a bypass move, teaching you how to find or make an openness in opponent's guard for attack instead of pointlessly attacking a closed guard.
after you learn this style, you see that the previous styles mostly delivered blind untargeted attacks.
__________________
- history:
Tang dynasty (618-907):
in the late periods of the dynasty, the tong bi style was formed.
Five dynasties period (907-960):
Han Tong (韩通), a high-rank army general, mastered the tong bi style.
Later Zhou dynasty (951-960):
the last inheritor of the dynasty was a child, and Zhao Kuangyin (赵匡胤), commander of the palace guard, took the throne, and Han Tong was killed by Zhao Kuangyin's army. he was a great martial arts master and Zhao Kuangyin ordered a grand funeral ceremony for him.
Song dynasty (960-1279):
after 961 AD, Zhao Kuangyin, as the first emperor of the new dynasty, commissioned chief monk Fu Ju (福居) to improve and standardize Shaolin kung fu styles. the army generals, along with Zhao Kuangyin's long style (taizu chang quan), introduced Han Tong's penetrating-arm style (tong bi quan) to the temple. this is the 'small tong bi quan'.
Yuan dynasty (1279-1368):
in the late years of the dynasty, monk Jinnaluo (紧那罗) and others combined the small tong bi quan techniques into the base of small and big hong quans and a monkey style and created Shaolin 'big tong bi quan'.
Qing dynasty (1644-1912):
tong bi quan took its final shape during this dynasty.
__________________
- note: there are various other forms and styles named 'tong bi' or 'tong bei quan' in Chinese kung fu, and they are historically and technically different from Shaolin tong bi quan. these are just different styles with similar names.
__________________
Shaolin Kung Fu tutorial:
- bodybuilding: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB9EB410ECABF43C8
- techniques: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6fQ8a5mXbyMpvEXB9C4j_NoVWmhf5zsz
- styles: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8F75C68BF1246C2B
- weapons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE48D537F756421A2
instructor: monks Yan Min and Heng Wei
__________________
- "attack" strategy (攻略):
sensitive points are mostly guarded. for attack, you should seek or make an openness in opponent's closed guard. relative to a guard, there are 4 types of areas to attack:
tactic 9 - 'open-area attack':
"befriend the far, attack the neighbor (远交近攻)" – when the opponent puts part of his body openly close to you, it is an easy target, attack it as heavily as possible.
– more detail in ground-attack and counterattack tactics.
tactic 10 - 'guard-area attack':
"borrow a way to attack the city (假道伐虢)" – seek an openness or open a way to penetrate opponent's guard. as the saying goes, 'hands open doors for the legs.' hands are accurate and versatile, while legs have more range and power and are armored with shoes. hands open opponent's guard, legs break him.
tactic 11 - 'shift-area attack':
"prepare the way in the light, conquer the city in the dark (明修栈道, 暗渡陈仓)" – when you attack, the opponent opposes by shifting guard and so leaves other areas open. bypass your attack to those opened areas.
– more detail in ground-attack and feinting tactics.
tactic 12 - 'left-area (counter)attack':
"besiege enemy capital to relieve your city (围魏救赵)" – when the opponent's guard is engaged in attacking, mostly when he wrestles or catches you, the most vulnerable parts of his body (the groins, eyes, fingers, shins, etc.) are left open. instead of direct opposition–which requires much force and has a low chance of success–attack these sensitive open parts.
– more detail in counterattack tactics.
these involve opening and penetrating or bypassing moves of the limbs. in this style, every major move is preceded by an opening move and may change into a bypass move, teaching you how to find or make an openness in opponent's guard for attack instead of pointlessly attacking a closed guard.
after you learn this style, you see that the previous styles mostly delivered blind untargeted attacks.
__________________
- history:
Tang dynasty (618-907):
in the late periods of the dynasty, the tong bi style was formed.
Five dynasties period (907-960):
Han Tong (韩通), a high-rank army general, mastered the tong bi style.
Later Zhou dynasty (951-960):
the last inheritor of the dynasty was a child, and Zhao Kuangyin (赵匡胤), commander of the palace guard, took the throne, and Han Tong was killed by Zhao Kuangyin's army. he was a great martial arts master and Zhao Kuangyin ordered a grand funeral ceremony for him.
Song dynasty (960-1279):
after 961 AD, Zhao Kuangyin, as the first emperor of the new dynasty, commissioned chief monk Fu Ju (福居) to improve and standardize Shaolin kung fu styles. the army generals, along with Zhao Kuangyin's long style (taizu chang quan), introduced Han Tong's penetrating-arm style (tong bi quan) to the temple. this is the 'small tong bi quan'.
Yuan dynasty (1279-1368):
in the late years of the dynasty, monk Jinnaluo (紧那罗) and others combined the small tong bi quan techniques into the base of small and big hong quans and a monkey style and created Shaolin 'big tong bi quan'.
Qing dynasty (1644-1912):
tong bi quan took its final shape during this dynasty.
__________________
- note: there are various other forms and styles named 'tong bi' or 'tong bei quan' in Chinese kung fu, and they are historically and technically different from Shaolin tong bi quan. these are just different styles with similar names.
__________________
Shaolin Kung Fu tutorial:
- bodybuilding: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB9EB410ECABF43C8
- techniques: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6fQ8a5mXbyMpvEXB9C4j_NoVWmhf5zsz
- styles: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8F75C68BF1246C2B
- weapons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE48D537F756421A2
