International Baiyuan Tongbei Quan Association is a martial arts organization which promotes this traditional skill in the world. The purpose of the organization is research and teaching. After hundreds of years of traditional teaching ways, this excellent skill still is kept in secret. Most people do not have chance to learn it. Today some masters realized the time is different and some old rules should be broken. So they hope more people can get benefit from learning the style and thus, preserving the art.
IBTQA is established in the United States and gets full support from the masters in China. Strider Clark is the president and head instructor of the IBTQA. Since 1989 Zhang Yun started to teach Baiyuan Tongbei Quan inside of his American group. So far some of his students are in many places in US. They are Pittsburgh PA, Northern Nevada, New York City, New Jersey, DC, Philadelphia, New Mexico, Arizona, Seattle, Oregon, California, etc. The meaning of established this organization is we believe it is time to make this system public.
IBTQA offers public classes, private lessons, seminars, writing and media materials to help people who like to learn this system. We hope from training people are not only learning some fighting skill but also get good health, as well as open the mind to understand the meaning of the life. Of course, there are a lot of funs also.
Shi style masters are known as some of the most vicious and feared fighters. Many masters through history were famous for using one attack to quickly finish a fight. Supplemental training such as iron arm and iron palm are included as part of the training. The master emphasizes the requirement for high moral standards in students beforehand. In fact, the teaching was, "never fight until you definitely must fight", and the group would punish any student severely who engaged in unnecessary fights. By comparison with other styles, Shi style practitioners kept to the traditional way, often dubbed, Hei Quan or "black fist". Which has two interpretations: One involves their practice in a dark place so that others cannot see what they do; the other relates to the very aggressive style adopted in a necessary fighting situation. Even today, outsiders and researchers do not have a clear understanding of this style. Shi style masters remain ultra-conservative, refusing to divulge even the most general of information about their lineage and methods to martial arts scholars.
Today Shi Style remains willfully obscure. There are some famous masters but no one ever taught in public and only a few taught privately. So far from what we know there is no Shi Style Tongbei Quan book available from these masters. The only book was written by a Japanese practitioner. The few practitioners of Shi style Tongbei are secluded to a small section of old Beijing. In Zhang Wencheng's lineage, traditional methods were not altered. The Shi style group in Zhang's lineage is more strict and conservative than most other groups. Today many martial arts history books have been published about other styles. Some have a brief introduction of Ma Xiaohe's lineage and yet no one mentions Zhang's lineage. This does not mean a total lack of information about the art, only that no one is able to get information from group members. It is extremely difficult to join the group or even win enough trust to do research. Even within the group, some things are only passed to a few of the disciples.
Because of its simplicity, utility, and efficiency, it is possible for a student to gain a lot of fighting ability in a very short period of time. This is especially true when compared to other external and internal styles. Tongbei had an alternate reputation for being easy to master and easy to learn. Even for many beginners, it seems like a "study-today-and-use-tomorrow" proposition. In fact, most practitioners can achieve at least mid-level skills quicker and easier compared with other styles. This attribute ends up being what attracts many people to want learn Tongbei. However, because of the conservatism, only few ever achieve truly higher-level skills that Tongbei has to offer.
The conservatism is in everywhere, for example in the training. In Shi style, everything is just for fighting. Anything else, no matter how beautiful or impressive in a demonstration is considered unnecessary. In the Shi Style Tongbei lineage under Zhang Wencheng, practitioners resist any change, modification, or reform of the system that was passed down. They keep to the traditional way, believing the older the better. Many of the masters are strict and hold to the way they were taught. They in turn teach the same way when teaching their students. This regimented transmission provides more insight into the original Tongbei training methods.
We are martial arts enthusiasts.
We are martial arts enthusiasts.
We are practitioners of traditional kungfu.
We seek a deeper understanding of the meaning of life.
We seek to improve our moral character and conduct.
We seek a healthy and long life.
We are practitioners of traditional kungfu.
We seek a deeper understanding of the meaning of life.
We seek to improve our moral character and conduct.
We seek a healthy and long life.
The conservatism of Traditional Teaching:
The group practicing Shi style Tongbei today has remained fairly conservative. It remains very difficult for the uninitiated to join a Tongbei group let alone become an indoor disciple. The master traditionally and often today "closes the doors" to teach secretly inside of a room. It is not uncommon for most disciples to spend long years learning and practicing the skills and never be shown the truly higher-level skills. As with many other martial arts practices, a master traditionally passed on the truly higher-level skills only to the best students with good moral constitution. The student had to be smart enough to understand the principles, but also diligent and disciplined enough to practice very hard. This conservative approach had the effect of limiting the group size, and contributed to the quality and depth of skill development. This in turn, helped the group maintain a high reputation especially for real fighting.
