The Martialist: The Magazine For Those Who Fight Unfairly

“Stay ‘unreasonable.’  If you
don’t like the solutions [available to you], come up with your
own.” 
Dan Webre

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Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.

Liuhebafa Five Character Secrets: Chinese Classics,
Translations, Commentary

A Book Review by Danny Rowell

Chinese
internal arts are heavy on myth and legend.  Tales
of the ancient masters launching opponents across the room or mystical touches
that cause a person to slip into unconsciousness or death permeate the
culture.  Last summer I paid a visit to a local Chinese traditional martial
art (TMA) school to hear the instructor repeat such a tale to his students.

Do I believe the stories? I admit that I don’t have an open
mind. I have an active mind that keeps me skeptical when I encounter
such topics.

I am a huge fan of Sun Tzu and his Art of War.  Add
to that the I Ching, the Book of Five Rings, and the Tao Te
Ching and you have quite a collection of practical Eastern thought sitting
on my bookshelf.  Recently, I participated in a seminar led by Paul Dillon. 
Naturally, as any martialist would, I decided to do as much research on the
fellow as time permitted.  I never like walking into an unfamiliar situation. 
During my research I discovered that Mr. Dillon recently published
Liuhebafa Five Character Secrets (ISBN: 1886969728), which was available at
the local bookstore.

I snatched the only copy off the shelf and found a
comfortable spot in which to check it out.  Immediately I noticed the quality
of the binding process and the pleasing aesthetics of the cover.  This book is
well made. The YMAA Publication Center must know how martial arts books can be
abused.

The first twelve pages are Roman numerated; they are full of
pictures, text, and even a lineage chart touching on the history of Liuhebafa.
The introduction transitions into Chapter 1: A Brief Overview of the
History of Liuhebafa.  Paul relates the story of how this ancient art was
founded and passed down through the generations. 

Chapter 2: Xingyi, Bagua, Taiji, and Liuhebafa
compares three well-known Chinese internal arts with what the author refers to
as “graduate-level” training in Liuhebafa.  Mr. Dillon touches briefly on the
high points of each art and explains how Liuhebafa incorporates the true
principles of Xingyi, Bagua and Taiji.  Liuhebafa is not like Jeet Kune Do. 
It does not take the best from others and discard the rest.  Liuhebafa
developed independently of the other three arts and, due to strict traditional
teaching methods and loyalty to the original secrets, has remained unchanged
through the generations.  This chapter provides the reader with strong insight
into the art.

Chapter 3: The Five Character Secrets of Li Dongfeng
is the core of the work.  Here is where we begin to explore each of the 134
Five Character Secrets.  Paul Dillon provides a crucial tool in the first few
pages of this chapter: The Five Character Secrets Translation Guide. 

The Five Character Secrets are represented in their original
Chinese characters.  Paul breaks each character down in Pinyin Romanization,
word-for-word translation, and interpretive translation before finally adding
his own commentary.  The less familiar the reader is with Chinese scholarship,
the deeper he can go for understanding.  Each set is treated in this manner. 
Some Secrets are more involved than others and treated in more detail. 

Being a non-traditional martial artist with a leaning
towards Reality Based Self Defense (RBSD), I tend to look at martial learning
from a pragmatic perspective.  Tradition and history have less appeal for me
than do the underlying principles of a system.  Reading through the Five
Character Secrets is like reading a poem.  Each stanza stems from the previous
and leads to the next.  However, each individual phrase accesses the
foundational principles of Liuhebafa. 

For example:

In each of the interpretations, I find common ground with my
own training experience.  This work does not provide answers; it plants the
seeds for further contemplation in a straightforward writing style.  As the
author told me in discussion, “Each art, at some level, is comprised of the
same principles.”  Reading through the detailed interpretations of the Five
Character Secrets, I begin to scratch the surface of understanding what he was
talking about.

Following the interpretive section, all 134 Five Character
Secrets are presented in continuous prose.  This offers the reader a
continuous philosophical connection, from beginning to end, providing
underlying foundations that have remained unchanged through generations of
Liuhebafa training.

The reader will find a short glossary and a detailed index
after Chapter 3. 

This handsomely bound and beautiful work imparts the legend
and history of Liuhebafa, comparisons to other Chinese internal arts, detailed
interpretations with a how-to guide, holistic prose, and reference sources. 
If you are looking for a book on “how to beat people up,” this book is not for
you.

If, however, you are a scholar, a sage, or a
philosopher as well as a martial artist, I highly recommend Liuhebafa Five
Character Secrets.