Shaolin Kung Fu Combat Styles: 8. big power form (炮拳: pao quan)

instructor: monk De Jun
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combat strategy:

the power style, with a small & big pair of forms, teaches tactics of using "power":

tactic 9 - "revive the dead corpse (借尸还魂)": use all available limbs of your body in attack and defense. instead of using just one arm or leg, use both your arms and legs together or in succession.

tactic 10 - "use fire to plunder (趁火打劫)": use more powerful parts of your limbs in attack and defense. whenever possible, instead of hands, use your forearms, elbows, or shoulders, and instead of your feet, use your calves, knees, or pelvis.

tactic 11 - "shut the door to catch the thief (关门捉贼)": grab and drag the
opponent towards your attack (with your hand or foot) to block his escape and increase the power of the impact.

tactic 12 - "to catch thieves, catch their chief (擒贼擒王)": to be effective, target the most sensitive parts of opponent's body. (the most common sensitive points in opponent's body from top to down are: the eyes, nose, throat, diaphragm, testicles, fingers, shins.) for example, in the fingers, target the smaller one, in the face, the lower jaw, in ribs, the lower rib, in thigh, the lower thigh, which are relatively weaker and easier to damage.

these involve the body curved for action of the upper parts of the limbs in lots of double and triple moves. in this style, all moves are done by both your arms and even the legs simultaneously or in sequences, teaching you use multiple limbs in cooperation in various situations of defense and attack, in addition, the body curvature teaches using the stronger upper limbs, like forearms, elbows, knees, etc., for more power.
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history:

Tang dynasty (618-907):
after a war in 621 AD, Shaolin monks performed a pao chui (power style) in an exhibition in presence of the first emperor of the dynasty.

Song dynasty (960-1279):
pao quan was first officially compiled in the first years of the Song dynasty (960s AD) under the supervision of chief monk Fu Ju (福居).

Yuan dynasty (1279-1368):
in the late years of the dynasty, monk Jinnaluo (紧那罗) improved the pao quan form. this was the 'small pao quan'.

Qing dynasty (1644-1912):
in the mid years of the dynasty, the early 1800s, monk Zhan Ju (湛举) combined pao quan techniques into a base of small and big hong quan, tong bi quan, luohan quan, and some other materials to create the 'big pao quan'. specially, there was a set called Shaolin xinyi ba, which is still widely practiced in Dengfeng area around Shaolin temple. this set imitates daily and farming activities by combining standing and small-frame stances with the pounding moves of the arms and fists, which use whole the body to generate explosive power. Zhan Ju combined xinyi ba moves into the small and big pao quan and perfected them.
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note: there are various other forms and styles named 'pao quan' or pao chui in Chinese kung fu, and they are historically and technically different from Shaolin pao quan. these are just different styles with similar names.
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