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Not every famous style thrives forever. Mi Zong for instance has been very popular for a long period of Chinese history even extending beyond China's borders. Yet now Mi Zong is relatively rare and "pure" Mi Zong rarer still. Part of the reason may be it's name which means Lost Track. And that's not just a poetic description because Mi Zong is well known for its' basic strategic goal: to completely confuse an opponent. Mi Zong starts with a wonderful Kung Fu legend. Centuries ago, it is said, a servant learned that his employer conducted Kung Fu classes in their own home but only allowed family members to practice in secret at night. The servant found a way to steal into the second floor, make a hole in the floor and looked down on the classes. Every night he would practice what he'd learned. But since the hole size restricted his vision he could only see parts of forms. So, resourcefully, he strung the bits and pieces together into a new form. One day, when the men were at harvest, a Kung Fu challenges showed up to confront the family. When some of the younger male family members were bested the servant stood up for the family and deafeated the challenger with moves so confusing they made him dizzy before the definitive strike. When the men returned they were told the servants actions and decided not only to teach him but to add his "Lost Track" skills to their own. Mi Zong was born. Speaking of legends, one famous Mi Zong instructor of the twentieth century has inspired many AND been the subject of at least two major movies. Huo Yuan Jia was honored as the top instructor of the pretigious "multiple style" school of Shang Hai the Ching Wu Association. A Kung Fu artist of the old school he defending his reputation against all challengers and, it was said, was never defeated. His enemies, among them disgruntled military men of the contending Japanese army, finally poisoned him to get him out of the way. At lest that is what many people think. The revenge rationed out by one of his top students has been the subject of The Chinese Connection with Bruce Lee (the real one) and Fist of Legend with Jet Li. Both stories are based on known stories and facts about the incidents though both movies have different endings. Whatever it's reasons for fame Mi Zong is a fascinating style. While some forms of martial arts are well known for their straight line approach (such as Shaolin and Wing Chun) Mi Zong is the opposite. Mi Zong perfectly lives up to the old Kung Fu adage, "One hand empty, the other full." Mi Zong messes with the opponent's consciousness by mixed the straight and the curved, the substantial and the insubstantial. The movements of Mi Zong are similar in presentation to those of such Long Fist styles as Shaolin, but the "flavor" of the style is different. Good Mi Zong performers look like they know what they're doing but don't do the expected things. Everything is slightly off. Kicks turn to funny angles and stances are mixed in such a way that the typical "roads" of the form are hard to distinguish. While many styles assume an entering process: touch limbs then penetrate; Mi Zong often enters at full body contact by "sealing" with the opponent then applying force. Even the attitude is different with Mi Zong showing a distinct tendency to mis-lead by head turns and sudden reversals. This makes it a little hard to learn at first but, to paraphrase Bruce Lee, "If you don't know where you are going neither will your opponent." Reprinted from a description at Plum Publishing's Website. |
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