GOLDEN EAGLE STYLE KUNGFU

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GOLDEN EAGLE STYLE
The Golden Eagle style or, as it is known in Chinese, 'Jin‑Ying Chuan' 金 鷹拳, was brought to Taiwan in the 1830s by the famous master Ah Sen‑Sai, a native of Fukien. Ah Sen‑Sai was a practitioner of Chinese medicine and a martial arts expert. Having connections with other Fukienese people in the town of Hsilo, Southern Taiwan, he decided to make his home there. In the history of kungfu in Taiwan, Hsilo has always held an important position. There were a number of very rich landowners and farmers in Hsilo who, for various reasons, hired the best kungfu teachers they could find to teach their families. Thus Hsilo gradually became the center of martial arts excellence in Taiwan and was still highly regarded until recent years.

Ah Sen‑Sai not only survived but became known, and is still known, as one of Taiwan's greatest martial arts heroes. A number of years ago one of the National TV channels showed a popular series of programmes devoted to the life and exploits of Ah Sen‑Sai.

In the 19th century the richest family in Hsilo was the Liao clan. They paid Ah Sen‑Sai to come to their house to teach the young men of the family. Ah Sen‑Sai taught them outside in the courtyard. While he taught he was covertly observed by a poor labourer named Chen‑Cheng. Inside a nearby building Chen had to push a great circular stone used for milling rice around, a job usually performed by a donkey but given to Chen in view of his considerable strength. As he followed his circular route, he passed by the one small window in the room allowing him to catch a glimpse of the activities going on outside. Passing by the window many times an hour, hour after hour, Chen began to understand what Ah Sen‑Sai was doing, so that, in his free time, Chen managed to put together the movements and practice a little by himself. He was engaged in this activity one day when Ah Sen-Sai himself came by and caught him. Chen was very worried about what Ah Sen‑Sai would say since the master may well have been outraged if he thought someone was trying to steal his techniques. Ah Sen-Sai asked Chen‑Cheng what he thought he was doing and where he had learned such movements. But Chen claimed he was just exercising. Master Ah refused to accept any excuses until Chen admitted the truth. Rather than being angry, the master admired Chen's diligence and actually invited him to become his student.

A NEW STUDENT
When Chen-Cheng attended Ah Sen-Sai's private kungfu class one of the senior students, Tsai Cho-Feng, complained to Master Ah. Tsai was a wealthy young gentleman who cound not tolerate the idea of being the kungfu brother of a peasant. Ah Sen-Sai prevented them from coming to blows and eventually they became Ah's best students and masters in their own right. On the death of Ah Sen‑Sai, Tsai and Chen were left the leaders of the Golden Eagle style. Now, without Master Ah's influence, the two masters parted company and opened separate kungfu schools. Tsai's school was called the Jen Shin Si and Chen's was known as the Jen Shin Guan. Both masters taught their own way, adding and refining techniques as they saw fit so that two parallel strains of Golden Eagle began to emerge over the years. Later the schools ceased to exist as such but the best disciples continued to teach new students in their courtyards outside their houses. Usually the teacher reserved the most advanced techniques to his own immediate family. The descendants of the Jen Hsin Gwan were Liao Shen, Chen Sung, and Tan King-Hong also a master of chi-kung (qigong) and Chinese internal medicine who lived into the 1980s. After Tsai Cho‑Feng the leaders of the Jen Shin Si line were mostly from the Cheng family including in chronological order Cheng Jin‑Jan, Cheng Wan‑Jung, Cheng Yin, and Cheng Sung who died about 25 years ago. One of the most senior masters is now Cheng Chia‑Miao 程嘉苗.

CHENG CHIA-MIAO
Master Cheng Chia‑Miao is related through his mother's family to Tan King-Hong and was able to study with him as well as with masters on his father's side of the family such as Cheng Sung. So Cheng Chia‑Miao and younger brother Cheng Chia-Min (Gavin Cheng) had the opportunity to learn both lines of the Golden Eagle style and are possibly the only people to do so.
After mastering the Golden Eagle style in Hsilo, Cheng Chia‑Miao moved to Taipei to work as manager of a book company. In Taipei, Master Cheng sought out mainland Chinese kungfu experts in order to expand his knowledge by learning Northern styles unknown in Hsilo. He practiced Chang Chuan, Xingyi, Black Tiger, and, most seriously, Seven Stars Praying Mantis with the Shandong master Lu Chin-Han. After about 10 years practice Cheng became so proficient in Seven Stars Praying Mantis that he became Master Lu’s assistant and designated successor. As co-instructor in the late sixties, he taught Praying Mantis to two well-known Western martial arts experts: the late UK master Danny Connor and the American expert Bruce Kumar Frantzis. Bruce Frantzis, as he was then known, was a frequent visitor to Cheng Chia-Miao’s house. Several years later when Cheng Chia-Miao opened his own martial arts classes he decided to teach Golden Eagle style rather than Praying Mantis. He had several overseas students including Alan Ellerton, Adam Kessler, and the American instructor Robert Bergman spiritboxing who now teaches in California.

TECHNIQUES
The martial art Cheng Chia-Miao taught emphasises fast evading and dodging techniques, suppleness and flexibility of the body; grabbing and holding movements reminiscent of the eagle itself. Like Tai Chi Chuan, the Golden Eagle style utilises waist-turning to generate power and to deflect and re-direct attacks, avoiding or parrying rather than using forceful blocks. In fact, Golden Eagle style has all the characteristics of what is sometimes referred to as an ‘internal style’.

As in many forms of kungfu, the elementary straight punch ends with a wrist-twisting action focusing on the first two large knuckles. The punch, starting from above the hip, moves up to shoulder height with a 45 degree angle at the elbow then moves forward to twist at the end to a palm down position. The elbow is not fully straightened and the punch may be allowed to recoil back slightly. The shoulder is permitted to move forward with the punch but is kept down. The body is thus not held rigidly square as in some forms of kungfu. This punch is usually used to attack the sternal region or lower. For higher attacks, the back-fist strike or cow‑horn punch is preferred. The cow-horn punch also involves raising the fist to shoulder height, like the basic straight punch, but from that position it curves outward slightly, like a boxing hook. The fist is twisted so that on contact the thumb is pointing down i.e. the fist is rotated 90 degrees further than the usual punch. This technique is especially useful for attacking the opponent's temple or ear.

Punching techniques are usually practiced starting from the hip, but when utilised this is seldom the case. Punches are actually delivered from wherever one's hand happens to be at the time. It is, then, necessary to learn how to produce power in a very short distance, possibly a few inches from the target. Thus Golden Eagle style involves methods of developing what is referred to as ‘Tsun‑Jing’ or 'one inch power', important for the close‑in fighting characteristic of South Shaolin.

Although used for long range attacks as well, the fast snapping back-fist strike is often favoured for very close fighting. Back-fist strikes are used in many forms as both strikes and as blocks, to the wrists and shins for example. Golden Eagle style also employs a variety of elbow strikes for close combat. The elbow techniques include all angles of attack and seem to be far more highly developed than those found in other similar martial arts.

BLOCKING & EVADING
Blocks are mostly circular, usually moving from inside to out and often finishing with a grabbing technique to control or unbalance the attacker. These grabs can involve the squeezing of pressure points or nerves. Many blocks use both hands to confuse the opponent. Thus a right face punch can be blocked with a left outer block pushing the punch inwards while the right hand goes unnoticed under the left to grab the attacker's wrist, the original blocking hand turning into a finger strike to the eyes. It is common for the blocking hand to change immediately into a strike or for the other hand to attack at the same time as the block. Both the open palm and the edges of the wrists are used to block. However, blocks are rarely performed without some attempt at avoiding the main attack and re‑directing the attacker's power, a practice which is always emphasised in this style.

To develop the ability to evade one's opponent, it is necessary to pay great attention to footwork, body-shifting, and the use of the waist. Three-angle stepping (San-Jao Bu) is extensively practiced which involves bringing the leading foot back to the rear foot then to the side, the rear foot following and then stepping forward. A triangular pattern is made. This technique permits one to evade an attack, move to the side of the opponent and then step in to counter attack. This type of triangle stepping is also found in the Southern White Crane style popular in Taiwan

An extension of San Jiao Bu is the 4 angle stepping method or 'Si Jiao Bu'. If you are standing in a forward stance with the left leg in front, for example, facing your opponent who attacks with a left punch you move your rear leg (the right leg) a step forward diagonally to your opponent's left side, using an open hand deflection. Having stepped forward, you move your left leg (now the rear one) over to a position parallel with the right one into a high horse-stance. This technique must, of course, be done very quickly and efficiently but, if one has sufficient  proficiency, it is possible in this way to evade a punch or kick, to get to the side or rear of one's opponent and to deliver whatever counter attack is suitable. These techniques are considered to be fairly elementary and are  taught very early in one's training. Later, more advanced methods of body shifting, dodging and evading are introduced at the appropriate time. Flexibility, speed, and manoeuvrability are, therefore, thought to be more important than physical strength or power.