I am trying to find out about a Korean internal art called 'gicheon', or 'ki chun', or 'gi cheon mu'. From what little I've heard, it seems to be like a mix of praying mantis style kf with strong tai chi influences. It has postures/stances that are held for long periods of time to open up joints to ki flow, and some motions from stance to stance. It can be practiced empty-handed, or with sword or staff. Here's a link that shows the six basic postures of gicheon: http://www24.brinkster.com/thefringe/gicheon/gc2.htm I have googled and yahoo'd, and found nothing more than this. 1. Anyone ever heard of gicheon? 2. From the pictures, is it a clone or like some other internal art that I might be able to find more information about? 3. Anyone know anything about gicheon's history? 4. Can anyone give any more details of what it's about? Thanks in advance.
I checked out a website on it recently http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Lee45.html Unfortunately, from the way its read, it seems to insist a fake,due to the whole, 'korean mountain monks did not write anything on the subject' plea. It seems phony, or it could just be a bad page, either way, read it, and you decide.
Korean Praying Mantis My shifu, a master of Northern Praying Mantis, says that there are actually several excellent practitioners currently living in Korea. He has visited them before to exchange/compare. (as opposed to Japan, which has almost no good practitioners of authentic Chinese martial arts). They are, however, all Koreans that learned the Chinese martial art, Praying Mantis. If they say it originated in Korea they are lying. My shifu also practices Chen-style Taiji and believes that the two styles compliment one another well. From my own experience studying Praying Mantis and Taiji I also very much agree with him. There is even a relatively new style of Praying Mantis out there called "Taiji Praying Mantis," though I have never practiced it myself. Therefore it would not be inconcievable that Korean martial artists developed a hybrid style, but keep in mind that it would still be a hybrid of Chinese arts. If they say it's invented by Korean mountain hermits then that's clearly a bogus backstory designed to add mysticism.
Onyomi: So how much do the poses in this art resemble Northern Praying mantis stances? Can you recommend some links where I can see some Northern Praying mantis forms, exercises, and stances and compare them to what I've been taught? Thanks again!
DVD Previews Here is my Shifu's DVD preview-page. http://www.kungfuloung.com.tw/news3.htm Unfortunately, the DVDs are still all in Mandarin right now, though I am currently working to help him translate them. On the right are the clips for download. Samples 5 and 6 (the ones in red at the top) are the first two forms of Taizu Long-fist. The four in blue are Praying Mantis. Sample 1 is a brief explanation of Yedi-canghua, a Liuhe Mantis form. Sample 2 is a performance of that same form while sample 4 is a brief demonstration of application. The last sample from the top, labeled "TV002" is a demonstration of another Praying Mantis form, Xiaohuyan.
Onyomi: Thank you SOOOOO much for the link! I enjoyed the forms, and it was an eye-opener for me (I had never seen any of those styles in action before). After looking at the vid clips, I think I can say that gicheon is not really based on any of the styles mentioned. I can see where they might be very far distant cousins -- I can recognize a very few of the stances in passing, but the motions are much more circular in the Chinese styles, and much more linear in the sword styles derived from gicheon. The hand motions bear no resemblance to each other at all, and gicheon poses seem to be based on triangles, while the Chinese forms of qi gong and related arts seem to be based on circles. Thank you, anyway, for taking the time to look at the photos I linked, and for providing links for me to view as well. If you ever happen across some info on gicheon, or on any Chinese swrd arts that seem to incorporate any of these motions/stances, please let me know. Thanks again! Ann R.
