What is Henry Sue Circular Tong Long?Circular Tong Long
In its most basic form the Tong Long part of the name represents Praying Mantis Kung Fu and the Circular part of the name represents Tai Chi fighting. Circular Tong Long is an amalgamation of these two styles, but in saying that Grandmaster Henry Sue learnt Praying Mantis Kung Fu from Grandmaster Dr Nat Yuen who also added Eagles Claw and Cotton Palm. So in essence Circular Tong Long really is a combination of Praying Mantis Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Cotton Palm and Eagles Claw. Praying Mantis Traditional SPM (Southern Praying Mantis) kung fu has very quick, dynamic hand movements. One of the key survival assets of the SPM style is its attacking movements. These movements are sharp, yet unpredictable. With appropriate levels of training, these short, sharp, compact movements can deliver devastating blows for the SPM practitioner. Tai Chi Tai chi provides the soft to balance and compliment the hard in praying mantis kung fu. When someone pushes you and you push back, that creates an argument between energies - two forces pushing against each other. This phenomena leads to both people ending up wrestling on the floor according to Grandmaster Sue: “if someone rushes at you with energy, use your soft energy to slide them away and redirect their hard energy. You use people’s energy to your advantage and manipulate them into a position where you are in control. That’s the tai chi art of manipulation in a fight.” Cotton Palm Cotton palm allows a fighter to feel his opponent’s movements and use this sensitivity to capitalize on any flaws or weaknesses in the opponent’s technique. Rather than simply striking and sticking to that position as with the famous sticky hands technique, the cotton palm fighter will maintain contact and move with his opponent - up, down, forward, backward, and to the sides to gain the advantage. Grandmaster Sue uses the analogy: “Imagine I gave you a meal, but said you can only eat it if you are touching the plate. One hand would always be touching the plate, the other would be eating. Cotton palm is like that. With one hand you are always feeling where your opponent is and what they are doing, controlling the movement, with the other hand you are hitting him! Your opponent is too busy worrying about what you are doing with his hands to notice you‘re about to hit him. Cotton palm is all about sensitizing and controlling the fight.” Eagle Claw Eagles claw specialty is in using all five fingers to viciously control, pull and drag an opponent and to attack pressure points. Circular Hand One of the stand out features of the circular hand movements is by not letting the energy simply stop with a strike, it continues in circular movements so the proponent hits the target many times in rapid succession. All of these subtle additions to the Circular Tong Long style make it an extremely dynamic fighting style. Again, Grandmaster Sue explains: “Having someone attack you with a sharp knife would be bad enough. But imagine they also had a machine gun. But having a net to catch you first before they stab you and shoot you with the machine gun. But they also hang you in the net … well, our style is like that. Our style has developed like that - we not only have one weapon, but many weapons all ready to come out when required.” While the Southern Praying Mantis style was complex already, the addition of the best components of various other styles means Grandmaster Henry Sue’s new style of martial art has endless depth, possibilities and is unique the world over. It is one which provides his students with endless opportunities for physical, intellectual and emotional challenges. Grandmaster Henry Sue views his Circular Tong Long style as a living creature, and the living creature has only two alternatives - it can die, or it can continue to grow. Under Sue’s guidance, the art has grown significantly over the last five decades and will continue to do so into the future. Benefits Throughout time Kung Fu, has gained a reputation for proven benefits in: improved physical fitness and conditioning, better focus and concentration, improved coordination, increased self confidence, development of valuable self-defense skills. Tai Chi exercises the body, mind, and spirit. It can help you balance your thoughts and emotions, to be calm, and to find stability. At Henry Sue’s Circular Tong Long Fighting Academy we pride ourselves on offering all of these benefits to each student—regardless of age or initial ability. |
Henry Sue - 9th Degree GrandmasterBorn in 1946, Grandmaster Henry Sue started
training Southern Praying Mantis kung fu at the age of 11 under Dr Nat Yuen.
By the age of 49 he was awarded the highest rank possible, 9th degree grandmaster level. In 2002 he was recognised by the Shaolin Temples highest priests as one of the greatest exponents of this long lost kung fu style. In 2010 he announced a brand new kung fu style called ‘Circular Tong Long’ which is widely becoming known as one of the fastest, most effective & practical martial arts systems on the planet today. For more information visit: http://www.ckfa.com.au Awesome SkillDevastating Power |