Tian Shan Pai (天山派) Kung Fu
Tian Shan Pai is a very comprehensive traditional martial art that is based on Northern ShaoLin GongFu, but incorporates elements of Southern ShaoLin GongFu, XingYi Quan, BaGua Zhang, ShuaiJiao, TaiJi Quan, QiGong, and QinNa. This unique combination of styles provides a variety of fighting techniques allowing for a wide range of possibilities for any given situation. The training facilitates flexibility, adaptability, relaxation, and harmony both physically and mentally.
Tian Shan Pai reflects the complementary flow of Yin and Yang, characterized by both hardness and softness, both external and internal qualities, both long range and short-range techniques, and a system of feints and strikes to allow the intelligent assessment of opponents to prepare the most appropriate response. In addition, training puts an emphasis on angular striking, circular movement, and two-person fighting sets. The two-person fighting sets provide a unique way for students to learn the action - reaction required in a real altercation while practicing timing and distance control in a safe environment.Many of the forms in Tian Shan Pai were derived from the Central GuoShu Institute in NanJing where top masters were brought together in an ambitious project to preserve and develop Chinese Martial Arts by setting aside their differences and working together to establish a curriculum, provide training, and to research and document martial arts practices. This included publishing books and periodicals to help spread and popularize the information.
Wang Jyue-Jen (王玨錱) was said to have studied to be a teacher at the Central GuoShu Institute, but had to flee China to Taiwan with the KMT after Mao drove them out. There he set up his backyard school called “Lei Sheng Wu Yuan”, or “Thunder Sound Martial Arts Garden” and began teaching his Tian Shan Pai system. Grandmaster Willy Lin studied with him, eventually becoming his top disciple. For 6 years, he was head instructor of the school before leaving Taiwan for Brazil. There he taught for the Sao Paulo Chinese Association, and the Sao Paulo Police Department. In 1970, he came to the US and is recognized as the first person to bring Tian Shan Pai to the US.
There are now many schools in the US that
teach Tian Shan Pai, but almost all of them trace their roots to the
schools Grandmaster Willy Lin opened in the DC area. The Jing Ying Institute is very fortunate to have a close relationship with Grandmaster Willy Lin who visits the school regularly to provide workshops. He has also been a friend and mentor to our Head Instructor, Shifu Billy, who is one of a handful of people he has accepted as a formal indoor student and who have gone through a traditional BaiShi ceremony to become his Disciple and a Third Generation inheritor of Tian Shan Pai. Jing Ying Institute is currently one of only three schools in the nation teaching Tian Shan Pai under a disciple of Grandmaster Willy Lin.
