Luohanquan

Group of Chinese martial arts

Luohanquan , which means "Arhat fist", is a general name for all the styles of Chinese martial arts that are named after the Arhats, the holy Buddhist figures. Luohan style is the oldest and the representative style of Shaolin kung fu. The original roots of Luohan style date back to the early eras of Shaolin temple. In Shaolin temple, there are various Luohan styles. Besides the Shaolin Luohan styles, there are many Luohan related styles that have been developed in many other areas of China. Shaolin Luohan 18 hands and Luohanquan are always praised as the root styles based on which most of the Shaolin kung fu styles and many other non Shaolin styles have been created.

Enlightenment (Nirvana) is one of the first concepts of Buddhism. The name Luohan, the Chinese equivalent of the Sanskrit (Indian) word Arahat, refers to those who have achieved enlightenment. Therefore, the ultimate goal of the monks of Shaolin temple, in particular, has always been to reach the level of becoming Luohans. Therefore, the Luohan(s) have always been holy icon(s) in the daily life and martial art of Shaolin temple monks. As far as related to Shaolin temple martial arts, the names Luohanquan and Shaolin quan are often considered synonyms and therefore interchangeable.

There are various Luohan's 18 hands styles. These are the most important ones:

Based on Buddhist teachings, by observing and imitating the forms and expressions of Arhat statues in the temple, meditation and practice, those ancient exercises later evolved into a combat form called "18 hands of Luohan" , or the eighth form. Shaolin Luohan's 18 hands movements are simple and straight. The methods are mostly done by the palms of the hands. Fists, hook hands, and other hand gestures and kicks are less used. Luohan's 18 hands are considered the elementary forms in Shaolin kung fu.

There is another Luohan's 18 hands style which is different from the original Shaolin Luohan's 18 hands but is more famous. This Luohan's 18 hands style has 18 different methods, consisted of 6 different methods of fist, 1 method of elbow, 2 methods of palm, 4 methods of leg, and 5 methods of joint locking. Of these 18 methods, a form of 24 movements for attack and defense is developed, which can be performed as a solo form or as a duet form. This style is originally from the Huaquan style of Shandong province, was brought to the Louyang area of Henan Province (close to Shaolin Temple) and was later adopted into the Shaolin curriculum, along with its sister set Babulian Huanquan.

Guard the Mountain of Child Gate Luohan's 18 hands is a less known Luohan's 18 hands style. This style has 32 movements, which in total make 18 postures. Small Luohanquan/36 movements and big Luohanquan has about 36 postures/54 movements. Big Luohanquan is traditionally called "golden child small Luohanquan"
Shaolin small and big Luohanquan are also practiced by the folk people of Dengfeng area around Shaolin in a less Luohan imitative version, which drops out or simplifies the Luohan imitating postures of the original Shaolin Luohanquan. They have extended the big Luohanquan with an additional part but most people only know these 3 parts. Shaolin Luohanquan movements, though simple, are highly advanced and deceptive. Attack and defense are masked by Luohan Buddhist postures and come out from unlikely angles.

During the centuries, Luohanquan was developed. A major contribution was by monk Jue Yuan and two others named Li Sou and Bai Yufeng. Finally, as a result of the developments since the Jin and Yuan dynasties until the middle and late Ming dynasty, a Luohanquan system of 18 forms was created, one form for each one of the famous Luohans, which at those times had increased in number to 18 in Chan Buddhism. In this style, each Luohan form is divided into 3 sections, so it has 54 sections in total. Shi Yongwen, and Zhu Tianxi.

The "108 combat methods of Arhat" is a set of 108 fighting methods of hitting and grappling (throwing, locking, and take downs), which have been created and developed by Shaolin monks of various generations. There are also a few smaller and a bigger such set of "360 combat methods of Arhat" in Shaolin.

There is a famous saying, "all martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin," and all styles at Shaolin originated from Luohan 18 hands and Luohanquan. Because of the historical and technical effects of Shaolin temple on other styles, Luohan styles of Shaolin are the roots of many many other styles. There are many styles with the name Luohanquan created and developed outside of Shaolin temple: In Henan province which Shaolin temple is located, there are several Luohanquans. In the nearby provinces of Hebei and Shandong, in the southern provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian, and the southwestern province of Sichuan, where Mount Emei is located, and also in south China sea area there are many different Luohan styles. For example, in Fujian there are more than 5 different Luohanquans recognized. The Luohan's 18 hands style of Hua quan from Shandong province is also very famous, so that it is even practiced by some lineages of Shaolin monks. Some of these Luohan styles have over exaggerated Luohan imitating tastes, while some do not have any Luohan looking characteristics.