Description:

He Quan, or crane boxing, is the general name for five styles of crane-imitating boxing, all of which have around a 300 year old history. All five crane styles became formally accepted by the end of the Qing dynasty and all five styles are predominantly practiced in the south of China.

Jumping Crane Boxing - Zonghe Quan:

The developer of this style was Fang Shipei, a native of Fuqing county located in the Fujian province. At some point in his life, Fang decided to learn martial arts and was accepted into the Tianzhu temple at Mt. Chashan. This was during the reign of Emperor Tongzhi (1862-1874). After 10 years of hard rigorous training, he had achieved a very high level of learning and understanding and had many important insights that would later influence him.

The story goes that at one point he observed some bird, supposedly a partridge sitting in a tree. Every time the partridge cried out the tree would shake. He realized that this was an articulation of energy. At some later point he also observed shrimp, watching them jump out of the water, and dogs, noticing how they would shake of the water from their coats after a swim, realizing that this was an exemplification of the force of vibration. It was these forces that Fang Shipei then tried to combine into his style of boxing which would eventually become Zonghe Quan (Jumping Crane Boxing). His primary disciples included none other than Lin Qinnan and the five brave generals of Fujian - Fang Yonghua, Chen Yihe, Xiao Kongpei, Chen Daotian and Wang Lin.

In jumping crane boxing, students are required to move around in circles with their bodies and arms relaxed. They build power and energy throughout their body before passing it to their hands, which are held out straight.

Crying Crane Boxing - Minghe Quan

This style was developed during the later years of the Qing dynasty by Lin Shixian who was also an expert in Yongchun white crane boxing. Lin taught crying crane boxing primarily at Fuzhou and passed it on to Pan Yuba who later spread it to others.

Sleeping Crane Boxing - Suhe Quan

Also from Fuzhou, Lin Chuanwu, the creator of Sleeping Crane boxing, actually went to the Shaolin Temple to study under monk Jue Qing for five years at the Shimen Temple. He then came back to Fuzhou and set up a club to teach the fist play specific to his style of crane.

Eating Crane Boxing - Shihe Quan

At the turn of the Qing dynasty and the Republic, after learning this kung fu style, Fang Suiguan from Beiling of Fuzhou passed it on to Ye Shaotao who himself became a master.

Flying Crane Boxing - Feihe Quan

In the middle of the Qing dynasty, Zheng Ji, master of the third generation of disciples of Yongchun white crane boxing, was fond of flying crane boxing and learned the essentials from Zheng Li.

Editor's Note - We apologize for the meager info here. We are presently looking for more on these styles to be included in this section in the future.