law hon gong

7/29/2019 Law Hon Gong

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LAW HON GONG, THE MONK’S STRENGTH

By Jon Funk Note: the Chinese terms in this article are in expressed in Cantonese.

Seven Star Praying Mantis kung fu has, as a part of its

syllabus, health enhancing breathing exercises called (in

Cantonese) Law Hon Gong which, when translated, means

"The Monk’s Strength". Acquired from the fabled Shaolin

Temple, these chi gong-styled breathing exercises have

meditative, health enhancing, strength building, and martial

training aspects to them.

The Law Hon Gong movements and postures combine to a total of eighteen. Theyare believed to be the chi gong movements the Shaolin temple monks used toincrease the strength of their martial arts.

Although at present there is no written history as to which of the Seven Star PrayingMantis teacher brought the Law Hon Gong into the system it is thought to be fifthgeneration Fan Yuk Tung. He was known as "Giant Fan" as he weighted about threehundred pounds.

Nicknamed "the giant" and "the broadsword", he gained notoriety for an incidentinvolving a pair of bulls. As Fan was crossing a farmer's field he was confronted bytwo angry bulls. As the bulls charged, Fan kicked the first one and palm struck thesecond one. Both bulls died and the farmer, although not happy with the death of hislivestock, accepted the explanation. Word of this incident soon spread andgenerated some notoriety for Fan. He also gained even more of a reputation whenhe traveled to Russia where he won a challenge match.

Fan made several trips to the Shaolin temple and spent time there researching with

the monks. He also took some of his top students including Lo Kwang Yuk, (whomFan sent to teach at the Shanghai Ching Mo Association in 1919) on these Shaolintemple research trips.

From these trips to the Shaolin temple, as well as his other work with the Seven Star Praying Mantis system, he wrote five volumes titled "The Shaolin Authentic". Thesehandwritten manuals contained concepts on fighting skills, medical information andhistorical aspects of kung fu. Contained in one of these five volumes is the eighteenexercises of the Law Hon Gong complete with replicas of the original drawings of theShaolin monks demonstrating the postures of each exercise. Because Fan wasvisiting the Shaolin temple for research around the time he wrote the five Shaolin

Authentic volumes, which included the Law Hon Gong, it is generally accepted that

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Fan adopted these health and strength building exercises into the Seven Star Praying Mantis kung fu system.

Breathing properly is considered to be a high level of kung fu ability and the Law HonGong exercises offer important insights into these skills. To be able to control the

breath during kung fu technique is difficult and takes considerable practice. It is theinclusion of the Law Hon Gong in one’s kung fu that helps increase the practitioner’sunderstanding of breath control.

In the execution of the Law Hon Gong exercises the practitioner maintains thefollowing breathing protocols: the tongue is held against the roof of the mouth, theteeth are kept together but not clenched, and the jaw is relaxed. The breath is drawnin through the nose at a steady pace deep into the lungs. As the air is pulled into thelungs the diaphragm contracts to allow the lungs to expand and fill with air. Theinward breath fills the lungs right to the bottom. The abdominal area expands as theintake of air fills up the lungs completely. This is sometimes referred to as Buddhist-style breathing.

In the Law Hon Gong exercises the completion of the breath inward continues untilthe lungs cannot take any additional air. At that point the practitioner continues togently force air in even for a couple of seconds though no more can beaccommodated. This has the appearance of the practitioner holding his breath.However, it is simply a continued intake of breath.

The exhalation follows a mirror opposite of the intake of breath. The tongue andteeth are kept in the same position. The breath is exhaled out of the nose. Because

the Law Hong Gong is taught as a part of a fighting system then training of breathcontrol must reflect that. The breath is not exhaled through the mouth to protect thepractitioner from potential injury. If, for example, a person were to be hit on the jawduring a confrontation and they had their mouth open for breathing then there wouldbe a possibility of serious injury. Keeping the mouth closed during combat is a safer method of breath control activity.

As the breath is exhaled and travels out the nose the abdominal area contracts asthe diaphragm expands to help expel the breath. When the breath is completelyexhaled then the practitioner continues to gently breath out even though no air is leftin the lungs.

This method of continuing to breath in when the lungs are full and continuing tobreath out when the lungs are empty has a number of benefits. Since the lungs arecompletely filled and emptied they are being exercised to their capacity. This canhelp detoxify the body of "bad air" and increase the oxygenation of the brain andmuscles. This gives the practitioner more energy and increases stamina.

The Law Hon Gong exercises can be conducted without the continued breathing atthe intake in and exhalation. The breathing is caqrried out the same way. However,at the end of each inhalation and exhalation there is no pause and the breathingpattern is continuous.



There is some of the Law Hon Gong postures which simply require normal deepbreathing, as they are static positions. In this way, the focus is more on the postureand not so much on the breath control. The breath should still be of a slow, even,and full nature using all of one’s lung capacity.

Most of the time people without breath control experience just use a portion of their lungs when breathing normally. This means that through the Law Hon Gongbreathing exercises practitioners learn to utilize all of their lung capacity.

When the lungs are exercised at their capacity in a controlled pattern then thepractitioner gains experience in managing the actual function of breathing. This isimportant when engaging in the practice of forms or sparring.

The normal breathing condition that happens when there is an oxygen debt, built upby exertion, is a panting action. There is a natural subconscious reaction to speed upthe breath to pay back the oxygen debt with this type of breathing. However, this isnot the most efficient way to recover one’s breath.

Learning to control the breath through the Law Hon Gong allows the practitioner toregulate the rate of breathing so he can consciously speed it up as the oxygen debtincreases and at the same time keep the breath in an even rhythm. All the while thebreath continues to be drawn fully in and out of the lungs reducing the need for panting. This makes the breath action act like a pump giving the practitioner efficientoxygen debt repayment.

The experienced practitioner of the Law Hon Gong will, after learning and regularly

practicing these breathing exercises, breath in a deep and more rhythmically fashionas a normal state. No longer is the practitioner’s regular breathing just in the top partof the lungs, but each breath is taken deeper into the lungs. For the law Hon Gongpractitioner, regular breathing is also somewhat slower than a person without thistype of training. Because the breath is slower and more measured it helps to keepthe practitioner relaxed and more alert, even during periods of stress.

Another aspect of the Law Hon Gong routines is the gentle massaging of the internalorgans by the diaphram and stomach muscles during the execution of the breathingcycle. This is considered quite beneficial for the health of the internal organs.

Another advantage to practicing the Law Hon Gong postures is the health aspect for the body’s muscles. Many of the postures are conducted with a stretchingcomponent. For example, these postures begin with an exhalation cycle that movesinto a stretch position. The exhalation of breath helps relax the muscles beingstretched. As the inward breathing cycle begins, the stretching posture is slowlyreleased.

Because these stretching postures in the Law Hon Gong are conducted with slowcontrolled movements, the muscles being stretched become used to being extendedin a movement environment. This helps give the body’s muscles better conditioning

for the more ballistic actions of kung fu techniques.



There is also Law Hon Gong exercise postures that are designed to help strengthenthe body’s muscles. Some of the movements are done with a dynamic tensionapproach through the movements. This will naturally strengthen important musclesgroups used in kung fu techniques.

Other postures in the Law Hon Gong are martial stances held as the arms aremoved in a fighting-like application. By holding kung fu stances in these breathingpostures the correct structure can be developed. As well, the slow action of movinginto the stances helps develop good body linking skills critical for the development of waist "body power." The strength needed for these stances is also enhanced in thisway.

There is also a posture in the Law Hon Gong exercises designed to massage thelower back and kidneys. The legs are crossed in a twisting horse stance and thearms are held loosely at the sides of the body. The shoulders are then rotatedbackward alternately. This gentle movement acts to massage the base of the back.In this posture the breathing is done at a natural pace and does not follow the heldextra retention method. Each breath, however, is done deeply and slowly.

One posture in the Law Hon Gong serves to develop balance. The feet are slightlyapart and the practitioner rocks back on his heels with the toes off the ground. At thesame time he holds his open hands away from his body, palm inward, at face level.Not only does balance become a factor but the muscles in the calves are alsoworked.

Since the Law Hon Gong exercises are designed to build the body’s strength there is

an exercise that is done in a "push up" position. As the body is lowered toward theground in the push up posture the person breathes out. As the body is raised thebreath is taken in. There is also an opposite position to the "push up" with a crab likeposture. The practitioner raises his torso up from the floor to a level position. Thebreath is taken in as the body is raised and exhaled out when the body is lowered.

All the exercises in the Law Hon Gong are conducted eight cycles. Either themovement is conducted eight times with matching breath or the static posture hasthe practitioner breath eight cycles before moving on to the next posture.

Although the Law Hon Gong should be done with a full cycle of eight movements

along with the corresponding eight breaths a practitioner’s busy schedule may notalways permit doing the full set of eight. There is still some value in doing eachposture a couple of times. It is also useful to use a selected few of the eighteen LawHon Gong exercises. If there is only time to do a few of the Law Hon Gong routinesthen each practice session should change which ones are used. Over time, then, allof the postures can be practiced.

If a person does not wish to perform the full breathing aspect of the Law Hon Gongexercises can be conducted by simply executing the breathing cycle with a slowdeep continuous in and out cycle. This will not have the same beneficial effect as thelonger version, yet it takes less time and still offers many of the advantages.



The Seven Star Praying Mantis Law Hon Gong exercises, obtained from the Shaolintemple offer many health, breath control, and kung fu application benefits. Whenpractice regularly, they can help the practitioner develop a better understanding of the important concept of kung fu breath control.

law hon gong

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