Forest Dragon (Lin Long)

For some years now I have been training the use of the steel whip and the sword together. When I first started playing with this idea I didn’t really understand how they complemented each other. The moment of revelation for me was when I realized that the Japanese two sword method presented in Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of Five Rings (Go Rin no Sho) worked very well with the sword and whip.  This book presents concepts in sword fighting but as Musashi points out, the concepts apply in many areas. Musashi was an advocate of fighting with two swords which makes his teachings extremely relevant and applicable to wielding a sword in one hand and a whip in the other. Initially it may seem that the comparison between using a whip in the left hand to using a sword isn’t at all a good one.  In the two sword method the sword in the left hand is the short sword and the long sword is in the right hand. With the sword and the whip the weapons are seemingly reversed, the whip is in the left hand and is longer than the sword. Despite this apparent difference, the concepts remain the same. This is because the left hand and the whip will be use in a similar manner as the short sword, often to parry the opponent’s attack or trap his attacking arm. The right hand with the sword is used to follow up with a strike or counter attack.

A good example is what Musashi calls the Fourth Approach:

In the fourth approach, adopt the left side attitude. As the enemy attacks, hit his hands from below. If as you hit his hands he attempts to dash down your sword, with the feeling of hitting his hands parry the path of his long sword and cut across from above your shoulder.

This translates easily to the sword and whip. Using the whip in the left hand, swing the whip upward and to the left blocking or ensnaring the opponent’s arm or weapon. Following through with the body, bring the sword up and “cut across from above your shoulder”.

This is just one of many applications using these two traditional Chinese weapons together.

There are many good martial arts school and many great teachers to choose from. Unfortunately, there are also some who do not have a solid understanding of the arts and are more intent on elevating their own ego.

In other professions there is a governing body which determines who is qualified to practice. There is no such governing body in the martial arts. Anyone can claim to be a “Master”, print up a certificate, learn a few tricks or take a few lessons on line, and convince unsuspecting students to follow them blindly.

So how do you find a good teacher? Finding a good teacher and a good school is largely a matter of weeding out the bad ones. Visit a school and see if the students are working hard or just playing. Talk to the instructor and see if they have a genuine interest in what you are looking for. If you find the instructor talking about how great they are or impressing you with the amazing things they can do, you should politely move on.

The practice of being mindful allows the practitioner to integrate the movements of Pai Lum into their being. But more than this, it integrates a particular approach to being. The movements in Pai Lum are of course intended to develop strength, flexibility, and coordination while also improving the practitioner’s ability in physical combat. By practicing these movements with the proper attitude the practitioner is learning a focused mental attitude which can be carried over into daily activities.

Being mindful in the practice Pai Lum begins with focusing on the movements themselves. It is important to minimize distractions. For this reason I always recommend a quiet practice environment. Many students like to practice martial arts to music with a strong driving beat. While this is a great tool to motivate beginning students, it also tends to distract the mind by overloading the senses. Rather than using external stimuli to motivate you, take a minute or two to be still and quiet the mind. This can be any meditation technique you choose and is often as simple as focusing on the breathing. You will note that the daily regimen in each of the Forest Dragon books always begin and end with meditation. The same holds true for almost any class. The teacher will often guide the student with cues such as “clear your mind”, “prepare yourself to take in what you will learn today”, or “assume an attitude of completely focused attention”.

Once you are able to consistently remain focused on the practice of the movements, the next step is to expand your awareness. This includes self-awareness; for example, become aware of the weight on the bottom of your feet as well as the stretching of your muscles as you move. It also includes awareness of your surroundings such as the sound of a dog in the distance, the smell of the air, and the fly buzzing around your head. The ultimate result will be an awareness and integration of all of your senses without any one of them being a distraction from the others. This balanced awareness creates a stable mental state which is relaxing and therefore efficient.

This book is a training manual and is an introduction to training in Pai Lum Kung Fu. The Forest Dragon Exercises is a system of exercises specifically designed to promote health and well-being without requiring a large time commitment. It includes an introduction to breathing and meditation, stretching exercises based on yoga, and the first of five forms, or movement exercises, intended to introduce the student to techniques of self-defense used in Pai Lum Kung Fu. Many of the techniques are taken directly from the traditional sets we train.

The Forest Dragon Exercises represent five phases of development in the lower levels of Pai Lum. The first of these phases is presented in this book. You can order directly through both CreateSpace and Amazon.

You can download excerpts from the book at Nian Media. Other training aids will be available here on the Forest Dragon website under the Library menu.