Mizong Luohan is an external style, with distinct internal influences. It draws on many aspects of the external Northern Shaolin Long Fist style, and the internal styles T’ai Chi Ch’uan, Pa Kua Chang and Hsing I Ch’uan, with which it is often taught in modern times. It is characterized by deceptive hand movements, intricate footwork, varied kicks, and high leaps. In execution, the style changes very quickly. The emphasis on flexibility in Northern Shaolin styles is a guiding principle of Mizong, and this is evident in the versatility of its attacks and the extent to which it integrates the concepts of many internal styles. An increased emphasis on mobility often comes at the price of power, but Mizong compensates for this by providing a means for the dynamic generation of power. Mizong’s unique fa jing (discharging of force) comes from the combination of the internal corkscrew power seen in Chen Fist and the external snapping power of Shaolin Long Fist. The result is the efficient generation of force through the dynamic motion of multiple elements of the body, the mastery of which gives a Mizong practitioner the capability of generating force quickly and flexibly from any distance. This system was presided over by Grandmaster Yeh Yi Teng in the twentieth century until his death in 1962 at the age of 70. A number of his students, among them Master Chi-Hung Marr, emigrated to the United States in the 1960s and have continued to teach this system in locations around the U.S. and Canada. A portrait of Grandmaster Yeh Yi Teng is on display in every Mizong Luohan training hall. It is flanked by a couplet in Chinese which translates to: The nine provinces are simmering; Tigers and monsters are waiting to be conquered by Luo Han. May there be no diversions from the main course; To spread the art and defend the course are the duties of the Mizong Masters Lu Jun Hai Lu JunHai was born in Cangzhou on October 11, 1941. He began studying martial arts with his father at the age of six. His father was a strict teacher and Lu JunHai spent the first three years just perfecting his basic stances, punches, kicks and footwork (Tan Tui ). His flawless execution even to this day is undoubtedly the result of this earlier foundation. He began performing at twelve years of age, in public and at martial arts tournaments. By the time he was eighteen years old he was the captain of the Shanghai Traditional Martial Arts Youth Team. He did not lose his passion for the martial arts even during the Cultural Revolution and was once voted one of Shanghai’s top ten martial arts masters. In the 1980s Lu JunHai was a technical adviser for a popular Chinese television series based upon the novel Water Margin (Outlaws of the Marsh…not the English version of the novel), as well as for several feature films. He was a Class 1 Competition judge in China and has trained many talented students who invariably capture top prizes at various martial arts tournaments. He has held several important positions in the martial arts community in Shanghai, among them martial arts instructor to Shanghai University and Shanghai Normal College. He was vice-secretary to the Luwan District Martial Arts Association. He was coach and adviser for the Shanghai Workers’ Martial Arts Team, the Zhejian Provincial Martial Arts Academy and Jingwu Association, the municipality of Shanghai, and the China-Japan Tai Ji Association. He was the chief instructor for the St Petersburg Chinese Martial Arts Academy in Russia. He is also a level one judge for the Jingwu International Martial Arts Committee. In 1984, he participated in China’s National Research Project for Traditional Martial Arts. He helped to produce a manuscript for a book on the six Qingping sword routines, and received an award in recognition of his contributions to China in helping to preserve the martial arts. Sifu Lu still teaches in London and Essex. Further details at Zhe Wei Academy. [edit]Poem of the Mizong Luohan style Mizong Luohan combines the hard and the soft; Dodging, springing, and shifting like a leopard changes its moves; Jumping and changes of steps are elusive; Spectacular leaps back and forth simulate the tiger. Mud-tilling steps are just too swift for the opponent The left foot has hardly landed and the right follows; The right foot has yet to step down but the left sets in. Internal power is generated by dropping the shoulders and elbows. Hands going up like lifting a cauldron or a sparrow piercing through the bushes. Hands coming down like splitting a brick or a swallow gliding over the water. Embrace, get in, reverse, glue, roll, snap, and lift. Stick-pull, grab, up-push, intercept, hammer, deflect and squeeze. Movements of the hands, eyes, body and the steps are well coordinated in all strategies. The spirit, the poise and the grace flow like waves of the sea.