They are compulsory because each one provides a unique fighting component found nowhere else. This component is dictated by the structure of the weapon. All other weapons are composites of these four.

Form follows function

Understanding the construction of fighting weapons of China and Japan sheds important light on the forms. Susan of Atlanta observed from a fencer's viewpoint why it was important to position sword finger in a certain manner. Fencing has a specific set of weapons, targets and rules. These are the result of an evolution of from the chivalric tradition of Europe. Fencing uses electronic scoring to detect touches from the opponent. So, from a fencer's vantage point, the guards would prevent a touch and thus the loss of a match.

One of the leading world authorities on Japanese swords gave lives in Dade county. He is regarded by Japan as a national treasure. He verifies the authenticity and value of samurai swords. He demonstrated with a cheap ($100,000) sword, some of the qualities of the steel involved. To demonstrate the sword's sharpness, he dropped a silk scarf on the edge and the weight of the silk was enough to cause it to be cut by the edge. To demonstrate the swords strength and durability, he chopped a railroad tie in half. The sword was the Samurai's life.

In fights with these weapons, there weren't the clashes depicted by Hollywood, the swords of the opponents never touched. One person simply lost a limb and life in a single swipe. So the guard as understood by Susan is, in this context, irrelevant.

Story about Indians raiding and stealing a baby from the mother and the midwife. The midwife hunted down the 9 indians, killing 7 with a tomahawk. The tomahawk she used had a razor sharp metal blade.

Military conflicts throughout history have been determined by superior technology. Ghengis Khan defeated all the armies of Europe. No army stood between him from the gates of Vienna to the English channel. The difference was that his troops used cast iron weapons instead of forged weapons. This was possible because of the difference in the bellows used. Mongolian bellows operated from side to side while European bellows operated vertically. Since the Mongolian bellows did not fight gravity, It was able to bring iron to a boil, an advantage of only 15 degrees in temperature. This allowed better swords, spears and arrow heads. The arrow heads were an ounce heavier than those used in Europe. This mass allowed it to penetrate Western armor since that armor was built to defend against the lighter western arrow. Additionally, the Mongolians did not wear metal armor. Their armor was a tightly woven fiber worn in layers over silk underwear. When shot by arrows, the arrow was slowed by the outer garment and was unable to rip the silk, which wrapped the arrowhead in a protective covering, twisted into place by the spin of the arrow. The silk allowed army surgeons to remove the arrows cleanly. Finally, the Mongolian horses maintained their natural gait since the were not shod. They were not burdened by armor or by a heavy Knight. Thus they offered a more agile and more stable platform from which to fight, particularly for horsebound archers. One can see this gait in the wild horse herds on the outer bank islands in the Carolinas.

Military weapons adapt based on practical grounds. Hot water or molten lead cannot be used to defend the walls of a high fortress. The lead turns into pellets of solder and the water loses its heat by the time it falls a few feet. So boiling oil was used because it retains its heat as it falls. Somehow we get to the question of should we, from a martial arts perspective, have dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima. Sifu says that you can't be a knife fighter if you never draw your knife. My perspective on it is this: Suppose you are threatened by an invalid. To avenge the insult, you kill his wife and kids. Thats the story on Hiroshima. There's no applicable lesson.

Shaolin Chuan Su Er Sil Fa -Twenty Method

Unless otherwise noted, all punches are vertical punches. All palm strikes are down with the willow-leaf palm. In this configuration, the thumb is flexed and the fingers are 'feathered' by extending them

Opening Stance - Hands at sides, feet together, toes turned out 45 degrees.

Opening Position - Bring both fists to waist, heart up.

Road 1 – Step Forward Straight Punch

Step out left to bow stance as you supinate the right fist, bringing it up the center line. Punch right with a vertical punch to shoulder height in your center.

Road 2 – Straight Forward and Kick

Turn the left toes out and set up by bringing the left fist up in supinated position to rest in the right anticubital fossa. Toe kick right, vertical punch left. Shift to a left empty stance and vertical punch right. Step out to right bow and arrow stance, vertical punch left.

Road 3 – Straight Elbow

Turn the right toes out, step out left to equatorial, bringing left fist to ear, elbow down. Elbow strike vertically and palm strike left to a left bow and arrow stance.

Road 4 - Turn Around and Hit

Hooking step right and guard the right axilla with the left palm Step behind left to a right lotus stance and vertical punch with right fist. Straighten left arm, thumb down and block while pivoting left to left bow and arrow stance. Left hand blocks at shoulder height and right hand is fist heart up at hip. Turn the left toes out and step out right to a right bow and arrow stance as you vertical punch with right hand. Circle block right with thumb leading the way, palm strike right..

Road 5 - Empty the Pockets

Turn the right toes out and step out left to bow stance. Right hand grabs thumb down at shoulder height and left hand grabs thumb up at knee hieght. Turn left toes in, step behind right to left high lotus, throw to left bow stance with the left fist above the left knee and the right fist heart up at the waist.

Road 6 - Block Up and Punch

Step out right to a horse stance. Block with left and pull to temple block, vertical punch right to the angle of the ribs.

Road 7 – Embrace and Hit

Turn to a right bow and arrow stance, open the left fist and block with palm down, thumb facing in. Turn the right toes out and step to left bow stance while bringing the left arm up in a hook to shoulder height perpendicular to the form line. Palm strike right.

Road 8 - To Hold the Knee

Triple block. Turn the left toes out and sweep to left rooster stance, facing 45 degrees to the left off the form line. Sweep down with the right hand and form a hook, with fingers up, behind you. Sweep the left hand over to guard.

Road 9 – Go Under the Sleeve

Out-step with the right to a right high lotus, bringing the right fist heart up to the waist and pushing outward with the left palm past the right

shoulder. Step in to a right inside empty stance facing 45 degrees to the right on the form line. Vertical punch with right hand as the left palm is brought in to guard the right elbow.

Bring both palms, facing outward, to the center of the chest at shoulder height. Step out to a left bow and arrow and double palm strike, left palm forward and right behind at shoulder height.

Road 10 – Turn Around Suddenly and Strike

Variation 1:

Turn the left toes out, bring the left palm to guard the right axilla, step forward to right bow and arrow and thumb-strike by sweeping the right hand in a clockwise arc past the hip and ending at head height. The right wrist is inverted to present the upper edge of the hand for striking.

Turn the right toes in 135 degrees and supinate the left wrist. Step behind with left foot to a right bow and arrow stance, reversing the direction of the form. Sweep the left hand down to thumb strike from underneath as you chop with the right. Both hands finish in willow leaf palm at shoulder height.

Variation 2:

Perform a leaping spinning hooking step as you thumb-strike right and then windmill right and thumb strike left to a right bow and arrow stance. The arms move as in Variation 1, but instead of the deliberate footwork, leap onto the right foot in a hooking step and finish in a right bow stance, reversing the direction of travel by 180 degrees.

Road 11 – Pull Down and Push

Step forward to a left L stance, arm break with right hand fist heart up at right hip and left hand at tan tien height with palm down and thumb facing the body. Push to a left bow and arrow stance.

Road 12 – Split and Kick

Temple block left and bring right hand up in a cross block position, right under left. Sweep both fists to the hip, heart up. Turn the left toes out, toe kick right. Out-step right, step left to a left bow and arrow and palm strike right. Left fist remains heart up at the left hip.

Road 13 – Clean and Go Under the Leg

Thrust the left palm under the right armpit. Clean with the left and grab while pulling the right fist, heart up, to the right hip. Ground-sweeping kick with the right foot and sweep 270 degrees to a horse stance, left foot leading. Pull the left fist, heart up, to the left hip.

Road 14 – Side Kick

Open the left fist to a willow leaf palm and drop it beside left thigh. Sweep it out and up over the right shoulder. Cut the left wrist with the right and block with left hook, fingers up while stepping behind with the right to a left seated lotus stance. Temple block with right palm. Side kick with left foot.

Road 15 – Split Mountain Lean Against Opponent

Grab, out-step to a left high lotus, pulling the left fist, eye up, to the left hip and windmilling the right hand to extend vertically above the right shoulder. Chop to left tiger stance, right arm bisecting the stance. Fold the right elbow and back hand right as you come up to a right bow and arrow stance. Turn-around 10 to a left bow and arrow stance.

Road 16 – To Beat Continuously

Re-grab with left and pull left fist, heart up to left hip. Turn the left toes out and step right to a horse stance, back fist down to waist height with the right fist, heart up. Backfist with right while turning to a right bow and arrow stance. Temple block right, and vertical punch left. Re-grab with left and pull to a temple block, fist heart out. Turn to the left to a horse stance and vertical punch right.

Road 17 – Side Strike Elbow

Re-grab with right while circling the left fist to the left hip, heart up. Turn the right toes out and step forward to a left bow and arrow, striking in the horizontal plane with the left elbow, driving the left fist, heart down into the right palm at shoulder height. Back fist w/ left hand.

Road 18 - Chop and Pound

Fade to right tiger and vertical punch out behind with the right hand. Leave the left hand extended, but turn the fist eye down. Windmill the arms, first left then right to a left bow and arrow stance. Right fist is extended forward, left fist extended behind at shoulder height. Drop the right fist, heart forward to guard the groin, turn the left toes out and right toe kick.

Road 19 – Go Down and Kick

Out-step to with right as you complete the toe kick. Re-grab with the right hand while sweeping the left hand to extend horizontally, thumb forward into right lazy rooster. Heel kick to the opponent's knee with left foot. Left toes should be pointed out.

Road 20 - Follow the Wind Palm

Re-grab with the right hand and sweep the left hand to extend vertically above left shoulder in a right inside empty stance. Drop to right tiger stance, chopping down with the left arm so that it bisects the tiger stance. Left hand is in willow leaf palm. Circle block with left hand to a right empty stance, palm strike to left bow stance. Turn the left toes out and Empty the Pockets.

Step back right to Opening Position, transition to Opening Stance, close form.

20 Method Combat.

Practice the impulse on all postures. Aim for points This makes Shaolin an internal martial art.

Road 1 Step Forward Straight Punch

North	South
Step out left, Punch to Lung 1 and 2	Step Back right and block left to TW 9

Road 2 Straight Forward and Kick

North	South
Toe Kick Right to GB31 punch Left to St9	Set up right on left, step back left, right strikes CS 6, Left strikes kidney 7 and 8 like White Crane Flapping Wings
Left empty and punch right to Lv14.	Fade to left empty and scoop right under attacking right, striking TW9

Road 3 Straight Elbow

North	South
Step out right and punch left to Lu1 and 2	Step forward right to right bow and arrow and block left to left at MUE 27 and pulling flow toward palm. Palm strike to GB1
Block by pulling left to ear and dropping elbow	Step back right to left bow and arrow.
Turn right toes out , step to left bow and arrow and elbow strike uppercut	Push elbow inside with right and strike to GB 14 with left

Road 4 Turn Around and Hit

North	South
Hooking step right, step behind left to unicorn stance. Temple block with left and punch behind with right fist	Turn right to right high tiger and block to CS6. Step left to a left high lotus stance. Pivot to the right and Circle the right hand overhead to strike GV 21 to a Right bow and arrow.
Pivot to left bow and arrow and temple block. Step out to right bow and arrow and punch right.	Hook with left to CV6 and punch to GB14 stepping back to a left bow and arrow

Road 5 Empty the Pockets

North	South
Step back right and block, with right setting up Lu8 and H6. Step in left to a left bow and arrow Striking Sp 11 with left and Lv14 with right shoulder. Empty the pockets.	Fade to right empty grabbing wrist with right and circling the left to grab in a 2 on 1 activating H6 Lu8. Step the left toes behind the right foot pulling the elbow TW11 over the acromion to hyperextend the elbow. Note that you can also sink and shoulder strike up to Tw12.
Leaping spinning hooking step onto right foot and palm strike with right palm.	Step back left to a right bow stance and strike with right to a right bow stance

Road 6 Block Up and Punch

North

South

Turn the right toes out, step to a left

bow stance and punch over the right hand to the opponent's face.

Step back right and temple block with the left to a left bow and arrow. Sweep the left hand under to grasp the opponent's right, activating H6, Lu7. Hooking step out right to a horse stance, punching right to Sp21.

Exchange the feet to a right bow and arrow, sweeping the left hand out of the opponent's grasp. Deflect the punch with left forearm. Slap with the right palm to the groin.

Road 7 Embrace and Hit

North	South
Pivot to the right bow and arrow, blocking the groin strike with the left palm heel. Step to a left bow and arrow stance and strike with the right palm to Sp21 as you continue the sweeping block, raising the left hook to shoulder height.	Step back right to a left bow and arrow stance, blocking with the left palm. Fade back to a right rooster and toe kick with the left foot

Road 8 To Hold the Knee

North	South
Sweep to a left rooster, sweeping the toe kick to one side. Guard the right shoulder with the left palm and form a hook with the right	Use the momentum of the foot sweep to pivot to the right and punch right to a right empty stance
Block the overhead to the side with the left palm, stepping to a right high lotus. .Step to a right inside empty and punch with right.	Block down with the right fist.

Road 9 Go Under the Sleeve

North	South
Step out to the left bow and arrow stance and palm strike left. Right palm strikes out behind.	Palm strike with the left palm, stepping back to a left bow stance.

Road 10 Turn Around Suddenly and Strike

North	South
Grasp the opponent's forearm with your right hand and leap in a left leaping spinning hooking step to the left bow and arrow. Sweep the left arm down and forward, continuing the circle to chop overhead. Palm strike behind you with the right hand, striking to the rear.	Grasp the partner's forearm with your right hand and leap in a left hooking step to the left bow and arrow. . Sweep the left arm down and forward, continuing the circle to chop overhead. Palm strike behind you with the right hand, striking to the rear.

Road 11 Pull Down and Push

North	South
Turn the right toes out and step out left to an 'L' stance while grasping the partner's right wrist with right and forearm with the left hand, tiger's mouth facing in.	Remaining in the right bow and arrow stance, pull back with right hand
When the partner pulls, push to a left bow stance	Exchange the feet and chop over head with left hand to a left bow stance.

Road 12 Split and Kick

North

South

Circle the hands out and cross block, right over left. Pass the partner's left

hand into your right to open the center line.. Turn the left toes out and toe kick right while bringing the fists to the waist, heart up.

Circle left fist to waist, heart up. Step back to a right bow stance and block

down with left palm. Right fist is heart up at the waist.

Step down right, step left and palm strike right to a left bow and arrow stance. Left fist remains at hip.

Step back right to a left empty bow and arrow. Grab partner's right wrist with your left.

Road 13 Clean and Go Under the Leg

North

South

Thrust the left palm under the right and clean the wrist. Turn the left toes out and execute a ground sweeping kick with the right. Pivot 360 degrees to a horse stance.

Hooking step and spin 270 degrees to a left empty stance, fists at waist, heart up.

Turn the right toes out and kick with left ball of foot to the fibular head of the partner's left leg. Bring both fists to the waist, heart up.

Road 14 Side Kick

North	South
Drop the left palm beside the left thigh. Cut the left elbow with the right wrist as you step behind right to a right seated lotus. Block the kick with the left hand forming a hook and temple block with right.	Use the momentum of the block to pivot to the right. Hooking step into a horse stance.
Side kick with left foot.	Step back right to a left bow and block the sidekick down with the right hand. Palm strike left.
Catch the left hand in your left, twist to a left high lotus and pull down to a left tiger stance, trapping the partners left arm under your right arm-pit.	Step back to a left empty stance, pulling your arm free.
Back hand with the right hand to a right bow stance.	Step back to a right bow stance and palm strike right, blocking the backhand above the forearm.

Road 15 Split Mountain Lean Against Opponent

North	South
'Turnaround 10' Grasp the partner's forearm with your right hand and leap in a left hooking step to the left bow and arrow. Sweep the left arm down and forward, continuing the circle to chop overhead. Palm strike behind you with the right hand striking to the rear.	'Turnaround 10' Grasp the partner's forearm with your right hand and leap in a left hooking step to the left bow and arrow. . Sweep the left arm down and forward, continuing the circle to chop overhead. Palm strike behind you with the right hand striking to the rear.

Road 16 To Beat Continuously

North	South
Re-grab the wrist, step forward right to a horse stance and pull down on the partner's left forearm using a Tai Chi pull.	Remaining in a left bow and arrow, free the hand by pulling back.
When partner pulls back, backfist right to partner's face, turning to a right bow and arrow stance.	Remaining in the left bow and arrow, block the backfist with the right fist, freeing the left fist and retracting it to the left hip.
Punch with left, temple block with right, remaining in right bow and arrow stance	Block down with right and punch with left to partner's face in the left bow and arrow stance
Circle the left fist under the punch, block and re-grab. Punch with right to the ribs, Sp21, twisting to a horse stance.	Free the left hand , stay in the left bow and arrow, and punch to face with right fist

Road 17 Side Strike Elbow

North	South
Sweep the right fist under the punch as you step out to the left bow and arrow stance. Catch the punching elbow in the left tiger's mouth and attack the right armpit with the left elbow. Backfist left.	Shift back to a right bow and arrow and deflect the elbow strike with the left hand. Block the backfist with the left fist Strike with right fist.

Road 18 Chop and Pound

North	South
Fade back to right tiger stance, punching behind with right and parallel to left leg with left. Windmill the left arm to beat down the punch and overhead strike with the right to a left bow and arrow.	Fade to a right empty stance
Drop the right fist to guard the groin, turn the left toes out and toe kick right.	Block the toe kick down with left to a left bow and arrow. Step back and punch right to a right bow and arrow.

Road 19 Go Down and Kick

North	South
Block with the right wrist to partner's right wrist. Grab the right wrist with right hand and grab the right elbow with the left hand while heel kicking left to the extended right knee.	Exchange the feet, pull the right hand free and punch left to a left bow and arrow.
Sweeping the right hand under, grab the left wrist with the right hand sweep to a right inside empty stance with the left arm extended vertically. Body drop to a right tiger stance.	Change feet and palm strike right to a right bow and arrow stance.
Circle block with the left hand to a right empty. Step in and palm strike to a left bow and arrow

Road 20 Follow the Wind Palm

North	South
	Fade to a left empty and hook the palm strike with right hand. Palm strike right to right bow and arrow.
Exchange the feet, catch the palm strike and grab the extended leg with the right hand.	Shift back to a left empty and grab the right wrist with both hands. Hooking step the left in front of the right, dropping under the partner's right arm to lock the elbow on the left shoulder. Pivot to the right to an arm break.
Leaping spinning hooking step to a left bow and arrow and palm strike left.	Palm strike left to a left bow and arrow.
Step back right and close.	Step forward with right and close.

20 Method Combat, Individual Roads

Perform 20 method combat in roads. Start each road by stepping with left.

Road 1 Step Forward Straight Punch

North

South

Step out left and punch right

Step back right and block left striking SI7, TW 8 or 9 , or LI 7

Turn the left toes out. Step out right, retract right fist, heart up, over left punch.

Step back left and block right.

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