For Shaolin Ways Episode 4: The Big Worthy One, click here.

I was preparing this article to coincide with the publication of our SPRING 2020 issue’s run on the newsstands to coincide with my article “Unravelling the 8 Section Brocade” written with my dear old Kung Fu brother Jeff Hung . Unfortunately, the pandemic shut down production (and inevitably, our print magazine. Consequently, it was pushed to my backburner until now.

KungFuMagazine.com has been rallying and striving to continue to provide fresh original content to you, our loyal readers, during these uncertain times. Please help us by shopping at MartialArtSmart.com as well as with our other sponsors. Thank you for your continued support. Enjoy this read and be well.

I used to think that the Eight-Section Brocade was a waste of my time. Today, it is the cornerstone of my personal practice. In my defense, my first Kung Fu teacher who planted that germ of bias against the Brocade.  Now far be it from me to speak against my master. I was fortunate in finding him and grateful for all he shared with me. His teachings formed that ‘good soil’ that produced a crop a hundredfold.  But when it came to the Brocade, that seed fell among thorns which choked out the seedlings. 

My first memory of the Brocade, or more formally Baduanjin (八段錦), was finding The Kung Fu Exercise Book by Michael Minick.  Back in the 70s, when I first started Kung Fu there were only a few books that were available in English. I found Minick's germinal book (first published in 1974) during some used bookstore crawl, which was a personal obsession prior to the internet. The book’s original images were adorable - Kung Fu in hippie turtlenecks and bell bottoms, as was the fashion of the day.  Minick translated the Brocade poetically as 'Ancient Art Silk Weaving Exercises'.  Taken literally, Ba means ‘eight’ and duan means ‘section’.  Only jin is ambiguous; it can be translated as ‘brocade’, ‘tapestry’ or ‘embroidered’. I brought Minick’s book to my sifu, Kwong Wing Lam, thinking that the hand gesture in the second movement, ‘Draw the Bow, Shoot the Eagle,’ might be related to the distinctive bridge hand of Hung Gar (a theory I still postulate).  But Lam Sifu was very dismissive of it, waving it off as 'just the brocade'.

Years later, Lam had me write the script for an instructional video on the Brocade. We had already developed some two hundred instructional videos together, exhausting his knowledge of Hung Gar, Bak Sil Lum and Tai Chi.  However, his second wife (later ex-wife) kept pushing for new titles. There were arguments, and anyone who has penetrated the intimate circles of their master knows how awkward domestic disputes can be. Upon reflection, I don't think he wanted to do a Brocade video. The Brocade wasn't part of his practice and he was reluctant to film it. He even did a weird version, perhaps as a defiant act of passive aggression. Instead of having the index finger extended in ‘Draw the Bow, Shoot the Eagle‘ like all the other versions, he did sort of a 'thumbs up' gesture. That totally didn't work. I've done a lot of research on the Brocade since then, as you'll see in this article, and I've never ever seen another version that does that. Maybe he just made it up.  When the footage was handed off to me, I was extremely uncomfortable, the only time I remember experiencing that with him. It was so awkward. Our relationship was always straightforward, and he never failed to oblige my endless questions. I sheepishly asked, "What do I do with this, Sifu?" He said, "Just read some books on it. It's just the Brocade."  So, we made it up.  Neither of us were proud of that.  Now you see why I was dismissive of it for years after that. 

The Shaolin Brocade

A few years later in 1995, I made my first pilgrimage to Shaolin Temple.  My primary teacher was Shaolin Monk Shi Decheng, who I would take disciple vows under when I returned the following year.  But for my first trip, I was hoping to learn that paragon of Shaolin qigong, the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic, or Yijinjing. I asked for that but was denied. I trained in a standard curriculum of Xiaohongquan, Yinshougun, Meihuadao and Sanda.  What’s more, I made another special request that was honored. Decheng taught me Bodhidharma Cane, but that’s another story entirely. For Qigong, Decheng taught me the Brocade.

That was a quarter century ago and it wasn’t until just recently that I understood why. In the final issue, the SPRING 2020, the one this web article was originally intended to accompany, Decheng explained during our interview for ‘Unravelling the 8 Section Brocade.’ Jeff Hung helped me translate. It was great fun because he had learned the Brocade from Decheng too. Jeff was also a Bak Sil Lum instructor under Sifu Lam, and we trained at Shaolin Temple together under Decheng twice. Jeff always supports Decheng’s Bay Area seminars, and most important, his Mandarin is far superior to mine.  

In the article, Decheng said this: "Yijinjing is harder, more difficult," explains Decheng, who teaches Yijinjing as well, although not nearly as often. "Baduanjin is easier to practice.  Learn Baduanjin first and Yijinjing later."

So, I was premature. Maybe if Decheng had explained the connection to me back then, I would’ve taken the Brocade more seriously. Maybe he did and my weak Mandarin missed it. Nevertheless, I had plenty of other material transmitted on that first trip, so I blew off the Brocade back then. I had four other forms to keep. Back then the Brocade just didn’t seem worth my time. 

I reviewed the Brocade a few more times during my successive pilgrimages to Shaolin Temple. Decheng would teach it and I would follow along obediently. It seemed easy enough but not something I cared to include in my practice. In 1999, I shot photos for a Brocade article with Decheng on the slopes of Song Mountain. He had this little mountainside clearing where he liked to take small groups of his private students for practice. It was a magnificent lofty spot and the Temple itself can be seen in the background of my photoshoot. However, I didn’t publish that until two years later. I can’t remember why I put it off for so long. Perhaps I just didn’t see it as overly compelling. 

"The Eight Section Brocade: Qigong from Shaolin Temple" appeared in our May+June 2001 issue and it turned out to be one of my most popular articles. Even to this day, readers tell me that that was one of their favorites and they’ve practiced the Brocade religiously ever since. I’m gratified that it resonated with so many, but I still don’t understand why. It was rather cursory in its description of the movements. Maybe it was the presence of Decheng and the temple in the background. 

Another old friend, Shaolin scholar Meir Shahar, author of The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion, and the Chinese Martial Arts made an intriguing postulation about the relationship of Baduanjin and Yijinjing. In his pivotal book, he discusses a Twelve-section Brocade (shierduanjin) from Wang Zuyuan’s 1882 book Illustrated Exposition of Internal Techniques (Neigong Tushou). It says of the Twelve-section “The method’s original name was ‘Eight-Section Brocade’ (Baduanjin)”. Shahar uses as evidence attributing the Daoist roots of Shaolin’s qigong tradition, noting that Baduanjin dates to the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE). It’s worthy of note that Yijinjing is also a twelve-section qigong. Beyond the Daoist roots, is there a deeper connection? Shahar only alludes to the possibility.

Eventually I did learn Yijinjing from Decheng, as well as a few more times from some other Shaolin monks. I even got Professor Shahar to join me for a Yijinjing workshop under Shi Guolin. I practiced Yijinjing for a while but didn’t stick with it so I never made much progress. That’s just my negligence or laziness. However, the Eight-Section Brocade is a different story.

To find out how, see “Shaolin Ways Episode 6: Baduanjin”.

Baduanjin Resources

"The Eight Section Brocade: Qigong from Shaolin Temple" By Gene Ching
May+June 2001

"The Eight Section Brocade of General Yue Fei Part 1 – Qigong for the Warrior" By PengCheng Chen and Feng Wu
Part 1 in the January+February 2004

"The Eight Section Brocade of General Yue Fei Part 2: Qigong for the Warrior" By PengCheng Chen and Feng Wu
Part 2 in the March+April 2004

"The 8 Section Brocade" By Annie Rose
November+December 2009

“Unravelling the 8 Section Brocade” By Gene Ching with Jeff Hung
SPRING 2020