Zhuan Shu Kuan (pronounced "tchwan soo kwan" and meaning "Fist Art Association") is a Northern (wu shu) kung fu style. Zhuan Shu Kuan was created to be a practical fighting system which retains its traditional Chinese martial arts heritage whilst meeting the needs of modern self-defence.
Thus while the syllabus contains traditional wu shu forms and movements, there is a heavy emphasis on practical fighting techniques.
The training syllabus covers all aspects of unarmed fighting including grabs, throws, locks, etc. but concentrating on punching and kicking techniques. Black belts also learn how to use traditional weapons (long staff and broadsword). Classes will typically teach a range of techniques, from boxing through to more complex jumping kicks. Sparring is encouraged, working up to full contact for senior grades.
Zhuan Shu Kuan (pronounced "tchwen shoo gwan" pinyin:quán shù guǎn) is a martial art mainly incorporating striking techniques similar to taekwondo and muay thai, but also includes forms adapted from Changquan (‘long fist’). It is ostensibly a Northern Shaolin style, though the average class has many similarities to kickboxing training.
History: Zhuan Shu Kuan’s history can be traced back to taekwondo’s arrival in the United Kingdom during the late 1960s.
Shortly afterward, a group of taekwondo instructors, with additional experience in Chinese styles, decided to combine the kicks of the former with the traditional forms (known as kata in Japanese styles) of the latter. Aiming to create a realistic stand-up martial art, the new system was named Wu Shu Kwan, led by Grandmaster C.K. Chang.
In 1988, two senior Wu Shu Kwan masters, S.H. Koh and L.Y. Kam, left the system along with their senior black belts. This resulted in a new organisation, named Zhuan Shu Kuan (fist art association). Master Koh had learned Tiger Crane (a Northern Shaolin style) from Master Ang Lian Huat during his youth in Singapore, before becoming one of the first taekwondo black belts in the UK.
Co-founder Master Kam studied traditional Chinese martial arts under both his grandfather and at school in Malaysia, later taking several years of judo before beginning Wu Shu Kwan in the UK. Their experience was combined leading to a martial art akin to full contact kickboxing with a traditional element. The goal of this new style was to further develop practical fighting skills, keeping the organisation small in order to cultivate high standards.
Origins: Zhuan Shu
Kuan is a Northern kung-fu style. Kung-fu
originated in China, and is widely regarded
as being the most ancient of all the martial
arts. Kung-fu owes much of its history to
the Shaolin monks (and other warrior monks)
who were chiefly responsible for the
development of organised fighting
"styles" and training regimes. The
Buddhist monks carried the arts from temple
to temple both for self-defence and
meditation.
Kung-fu spread and regional differences in
styles started to show. In the North of
China, where the people were generally
taller, Northern styles heavily emphasised
kicking techniques. In the South, the
shorter stature of the people made in-close
fighting preferable and Southern styles
(like Wing Chun) place great emphasis on
fist techniques and fighting in close.
Kung-fu itself is a misnomer; it simply
means a dedicated effort. Often applied to
kung-fu, a better term would be Wu Shu -
fighting art. Northern kung-fu styles are
generically called wu shu. Wu shu is the
national sport of China - children are
taught kung-fu in schools instead of
football.
Kung-fu was taken to
Okinawa by monks, where there was in
existence a local boxing style simply called
(Okinawan) "te". The monks' kung
fu skills were combined with the local
fighting style to create kara-te do - the
way of the open (empty) hand.
Okinawa was occupied by the Japanese, and
the occupiers met with much resistance from
the locals. In response the Japanese banned
weapons on the island for the locals, thus
karate weapons are based on farm implements
(e.g. kama based on a sickle, nunchaku based
on a rice-flail, etc.). The Samurai
developed their own armed martial arts. They
also devised a self-defence system for when
they were dismounted or unarmed. Jiu Jitsu
converted existing unarmed styles
(kung-fu/karate/etc.) to the needs of
Samurai self-defence - hence it became
heavily grappling oriented. From Jiu Jitsu
we now have styles such as Judo, Aikido and
Hap Ki Do (Korean).
Kung fu spread to Thailand and the local
fighting style there became Muay Thai
(kick-boxing) - the national sport of
Thailand.
Japan occupied a large
part of China (Manchuria) and Korea until
after the second world war. During that
time, local fighting arts were abolished and
Karate/Ju Jitsu schools set up to help
spread Japanese culture. Of course, local
fighting styles continued in secret. When
the Japanese were expelled there was a
resurgence in the local arts and several
Korean schools (kwans) sprang up. A surge of
Korean nationalism prompted the unification
of these schools and the South Korean
General Choi Hong-Hi brought most of the
major kwans together to create Tae Kwon Do
in the 1950's (the exception being the Moo
Duk Kwan which remained independent with
it's Tang Soo Do style). Tae Kwon Do
effectively became an umbrella style for
many of the Korean schools - it sorted out
training regimes/syllabus/etc. Today it is
taught to Korean police and military, both
North and South. Both Tae Kwon Do and Tang
Soo Do were heavily influenced by the
martial arts taught during the Japanese
occupation, especially Karate (look at the
first forms for Tae Kwon Do and Shotokan
Karate - they are almost identical).
In the late 1960s Tae
Kwon Do spread to the UK, spearheaded by
Grand Master Rhee Ki Ha. A short time later
a small group of martial arts exponents
teaching Tae Kwon Do, but with a wealth of
experience in Chinese Wu Shu, created Wu Shu
Kwan. Wu Shu Kwan aimed to be a hard
fighting style, like Korean Tae Kwon Do, but
drawing on the wu shu experience of its
teachers. Traditional Chinese wu shu forms
were introduced into the grading syllabus.
In 1988, Wu Shu Kwan split. The Grand Master
of the system stayed, but two senior
masters, sifus Koh and Kam, left with their
black belts and students to form Zhuan Shu
Kuan (fist art association). Zhuan Shu Kuan
has been developed from there. The ethos of
the founders has always been of a practical
martial art devoted to the science of
self-defence. Hence there is much emphasis
on practical fighting skills. Zhuan Shu Kuan
is much less expansionist than other martial
arts, instead aiming to remain small but
with high standards.
Zhuan Shu Kuan is
distinct from traditional wu shu due to its
modern, practical approach to fighting.
Whilst fighting, we do not use traditional
stances and transitions between movements -
our fighting style is much less constrained
and more organic.
Zhuan Shu Kuan is distinct from Tae Kwon Do
in our training methods, fighting style (Tae
Kwon Do is much more competition oriented),
stances and forms. Tae Kwon Do owes more to
karate than Zhuan Shu Kuan does - like wu
shu, Zhuan Shu Kuan aims to flow from one
movement to the next, rather than hard,
sharp movements as in Tae Kwon Do and
karate. Neither is Zhuan Shu Kuan like Muay
Thai - our fighting style is similar but the
training methods, forms, etc. set us apart.
Thus due to the history of Zhuan Shu Kuan's
development and the experiences of its
founders, Zhuan Shu Kuan can be seen to be a
modern fighting art, designed to be
practical for today's self-defence needs
whilst maintaining traditional training
methods such as compulsory movements, forms,
etc. Effectively Zhuan Shu Kuan is like a
blend of Tae Kwon Do and Wu Shu, but with a
heavy emphasis on hard fighting like San
Shou or Muay Thai. This for me is why Zhuan
Shu Kuan is such a good martial art to
study.
Training: Training is mainly concerned with punching and kicking techniques, but also includes some joint locks and throws. While several instructors are skilled at ground fighting, it is rarely taught (for example, Sifu Glen Cudjoe also practiced Judo). In Zhuan Shu Kuan, there is the option of taking either a traditional or a kickboxing syllabus, the latter run by Master Kam.
Classes vary, but always include a warm-up at the beginning of class, consisting of common bodyweight exercises such as press-ups, sit-ups and squat thrusts. This is followed by intensive stretching, particularly for the legs due to Zhuan Shu Kuan’s numerous kicking techniques. Linework and/or padwork will usually come next, sometimes accompanied by the grading syllabus (forms, fixed spars and compulsory movements, required to pass each belt level). Finally, class will finish with free sparring.
This varies depending on the practitioner, but works up to full contact for senior and experienced members of class (non-ZSK stylists are welcome to train). Gum shields and groin guards (for men) are compulsory, with participants also expected to wear boxing gloves and shin pads. Conditioning of shins, forearms and knuckles is a part of class, but does not continue into free sparring. At this point in class there are clear similarities to muay thai in terms of technique and style. Black belts also learn how to use traditional weapons, such as the broadsword and long staff.
Gradings: Zhuan Shu Kuan gradings consist of a form, compulsory movements (such as kicks from back stance, building to jumping kicks at higher grades) and a fixed spar (blocks, locks, strikes and throws). After reaching 6th grade, a candidate will also be tested on their free sparring (wearing gloves, shin pads and gum shield, along with a groin guard for men or a chest guard for women).
The contact level increases until eventually full contact after 2nd grade (though contact up to that point is often dependent on the particular candidate; they may well reach heavy contact at earlier gradings). To obtain a black belt, there is a destruction section (breaking bricks, tiles and wooden boards with punches, chops and kicks) instead of compulsory movements, multiple forms and considerably more free sparring, including a two-on-one. From second degree onwards, weapons become part of the syllabus. The main centre for gradings is in Kensington.
The kickboxing syllabus does not include training in forms or fixed spars, concentrating instead purely on fighting techniques.
Ranks:
8th Grade - Junior White Belt
7th Grade - Senior White Belt (blue
stripe)
6th Grade - Junior Blue Belt
5th Grade - Senior Blue Belt (red
stripe)
4th Grade - Junior Red Belt
3rd Grade - Senior Red Belt (brown
stripe)
2nd Grade - Junior Brown Belt
1st Grade - Senior Brown Belt (black
stripe)
First Degree (or higher) - Black Belt
Status
Master Status - 5th Degree Black Belt
Senior Master Status - 6th Degree
Black Belt
Grand Master - Chief Instructor &
Examiner - S H Koh & L Y Kam
