Drunken Monkey Form or
Drunken Monkey Pole Form of Kung Fu is a Chinese martial art, and one of the variations of the
Monkey StyleMonkey Kung Fu , literally Monkey Fist, is a Chinese martial art which utilizes ape or monkey-like movements as part of its technique. Being one of the more difficult styles of kung fu, Monkey kung fu integrates the use of an extensive collection of weapons for use in combat.-Hou Quan:Hou Quan ,...
.
This style is different from
Zui QuanZui Quan is a concept in traditional Chinese martial arts, as well as a classification of modern Wushu forms...
(Drunken Fist), as the practitioner is imitating gestures of an intoxicated
monkeyA monkey is any cercopithecoid or platyrrhine primate. All primates that are not prosimians or apes are monkeys. The 264 known extant monkey species represent two of the three groupings of simian primates...
, rather than a human fighter.
Drunken Monkey does not begin with drunken-like gestures, but rather the drunken aspect enters the forms in the middle section when the practitioner plays the movements of a monkey drinking stolen
wineWine is an alcoholic beverage typically made of fermented grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes...
.
The Drunken Monkey style is visually completely different when compared to Zui Quan and is shorter in sequence.
Drunken Monkey Form or
Drunken Monkey Pole Form of Kung Fu is a Chinese martial art, and one of the variations of the
Monkey StyleMonkey Kung Fu , literally Monkey Fist, is a Chinese martial art which utilizes ape or monkey-like movements as part of its technique. Being one of the more difficult styles of kung fu, Monkey kung fu integrates the use of an extensive collection of weapons for use in combat.-Hou Quan:Hou Quan ,...
.
This style is different from
Zui QuanZui Quan is a concept in traditional Chinese martial arts, as well as a classification of modern Wushu forms...
(Drunken Fist), as the practitioner is imitating gestures of an intoxicated
monkeyA monkey is any cercopithecoid or platyrrhine primate. All primates that are not prosimians or apes are monkeys. The 264 known extant monkey species represent two of the three groupings of simian primates...
, rather than a human fighter.
Drunken Monkey does not begin with drunken-like gestures, but rather the drunken aspect enters the forms in the middle section when the practitioner plays the movements of a monkey drinking stolen
wineWine is an alcoholic beverage typically made of fermented grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes...
.
The Drunken Monkey style is visually completely different when compared to Zui Quan and is shorter in sequence. This style, however, is considered more artistically beautiful, acrobatic and agile compared to Zui Quan. This does not necessarily mean that it is more or less effective in actual combat.
Contrary to claims in movies, actually being drunk doesn't improve drunken monkey or drunken fist. It's based on the concept of imitating being drunk, actually being drunk is not required and may impair one's speed and ability to perform complex movements.
Description and Techniques
The form is short and simple, consisting of a few dozen or so movements. Much of the moves are performed at a low ground level, with rolling, tumbling and falling techniques. There are also many unusual grappling and blocking techniques. The higher level attacks include eye pokes and throat hits, as well as blocks and punches (with punching being exceptional, as monkeys generally do not attack with their fists). There are also many middle attacks such as kicks aimed to the stomach area, and lower attacks to the lower abdomen, groin and legs.
- The "Monkey-Hands" Technique: Relaxed hand strikes with the palm facing downward and fingers drooping towards the ground, used to deflect hand strikes and kicks, and also to strike with the fingers towards the throat and eyes.
- The "Monkey-Claws" Technique: This attack is basically a strike with the palm facing forward and hitting with the fingers and striking downward, like any animal's clawing motion. It is used to hit the face and eyes, and can also be used to grapple the opponent's wrist.
- Low Kicks and Ground Kicks: There are many kicks in Drunken Monkey, primarily aimed at the lower portions of the body (legs, groin, abdomen) and executed from a low position or from lying on the ground.
Origin
The inspiration for Drunken Monkey can be traced to the character "
Sūn WùkōngSun Wukong, known in the West as the Monkey King, is the main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West. In the novel, he accompanies the monk Xuanzang on the journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India....
" from the story "
Journey to the WestJourney to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Originally published anonymously in the 1590s during the Ming Dynasty, and even though no direct evidence of its authorship survives, it has been ascribed to the scholar Wu Cheng'en since the 20th century.In...
", written in the
Ming DynastyThe Ming Dynasty , or Empire of the Great Ming , was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history," was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
by
Wu Cheng'enWu Cheng'en , courtesy name Ruzhong , pen name "Sheyang Hermit," was a Chinese novelist and poet of the Ming Dynasty, most famous for being the probable author of one of the Four Great Classical Novels, the Chinese classic known as Journey to the West.-Life:Wu was born in Lianshui, in Jiangsu...
. In the story, the Monkey King stole all the peaches of the "spiritual peach tree" of the
Heavenly King MotherThe Jade Emperor , is the Taoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell according to a version of Taoist mythology...
and drank all the wine reserved for fairies and immortals who were invited to the birthday party of the Heavenly King. The Heavenly King became enraged and the Monkey King made a mess of the Heavenly Palace after fighting and defeating all of the Heavens' warriors. The Monkey King had to be finally subdued by Buddha Yu-lei.
There is no mention of the Monkey King being intoxicated in the story, but perhaps due to decriptions of him drinking large amounts of wine, it is still considered the source of inspiration for Drunken Monkey.
Article source
Leung, Ting Dr.Leung Ting is the founder and permanent president of the International WingTsun Association.Leung chose the spelling of WingTsun to differentiate his teachings from those of other Wing Chun schools, and to keep them from passing off their style as his own...
Drunken Monkey Kung Fu – (1998) Leung Ting Company,
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
(ISBN 962-7284-02-5)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/9627284025/
In the movies
- In Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, filmmaker, comedian, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer....
's Drunken Master IIDrunken Master II is a 1994 Hong Kong kung fu film directed by Lau Kar-Leung and starring Jackie Chan as Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung. It was Jackie Chan's first traditional style martial arts film since The Young Master...
(1994) (AKA Legend of Drunken Master (2000) (U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
)) Drunken Monkey is hinted at. In one fight scene, Wong Fei HungWong Fei Hung or Hwang Fei Hung was a martial artist, a medical doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, and revolutionary who became a Chinese folk hero and the subject of numerous television series and films....
takes a form he calls "monkey drinks master's wine" which bears resemblances to and shares a similar name with the Drunken Monkey forms "The Monkey King Stealing Wine", "The Monkey King Drinking Wine" and "The Monkey King Becoming Drunk"
- The main character (Chia-Liang Liu) in Feng hou (1979) AKA Mad Monkey Kung-Fu http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079147/ is a master of Lau Family Hung Gar kung fu which has its own variation of Monkey Boxing inclusive of the Drunken monkey technique
- A more recent film featuring a drunken monkey style is Chui ma lau (2002) AKA Drunken Monkey http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367602/ In this movie Chia-Liang Liu is also one of the lead characters and again the technique on display is a variation of the Lau Family Hung Gar system.
- The movie Chu long ma liu (1979) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078969/ also features the Monkey styles including Drunken
- A similar attack style appears in Monkey Island 4.