Hung I-Hsiang or Hong Yixiang () (1925–1993) was a Taiwanese

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

who specialized in the internal Chinese styles of

xingyiquan Xing Yi Quan is classified as one of the internal styles of Chinese martial arts. The name of the art translates approximately to "Form-Intention Fist", or "Shape-Will Fist". Xing Yi is characterized by aggressive, seemingly linear movements ...

baguazhang Baguazhang or Pakua chang () is one of the three main Chinese martial arts of the Wudang school, the other two being T'ai chi and Xing Yi Quan. It is more broadly grouped as an internal practice (or neijia quan). ''Bāguà zhǎng'' literally m ...

, and

taijiquan Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. Ta ...

. Hung I-Hsiang was born in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. He studied with Chang Chun-Feng (), a master of internal Chinese martial arts from Northern China. Chang introduced these arts to Taiwan in 1948, when he moved there following the

Chinese Communist Revolution The Chinese Communist Revolution, officially known as the Chinese People's War of Liberation in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and also known as the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion in the Republic of China (ROC ...

. Initially, Chang was met with resistance from mainlanders on Taiwan who objected to his teaching the secrets of internal martial arts to native Taiwanese such as Hung. When Chang began teaching in the northern part of

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

, his first group of core students included the three Hung brothers: Hung I-Hsiang, Hung I-Wen, and Hung I-Mien. It is said that Hung I-Hsiang was the

() specialist, Hung I-Mien was the

() specialist, and Hung I-Wen specialized in

(). After he had studied with Chang for several years, Hung often led classes for Chang. Because the internal martial arts were still very new in Taiwan, many curious people would come to test Chang's skill. Hung said that Chang would often send him out to show the visitors what the internal styles were all about. Many martial artists in Taiwan remember Hung as being someone who was involved in many fights, both in and out of the martial arts studio. In the mid-1960s, Hung I-Hsiang opened up his own school under the name Tang Shou Tao (). Hung I-Hsiang internal arts training program included xingyiquan, baguazhang and

Wu (Hao)-style taijiquan Wu (Hao)-style t'ai chi ch'üan was created by Wu Yuxiang (, birth name Wu Heqing, , 1812?–1880?), a member of a wealthy and influential family in Yongnian, Hebei, China. Wu trained for approximately ten years with the founder of Yang-style ...

Shaolin kung fu Shaolin Kung Fu (), also called Shaolin Wushu (), or Shaolin quan (), is one of the oldest, largest, and most famous styles of wushu, or kung fu of Chan Buddhism. It combines Ch'an philosophy and martial arts and originated and was developed i ...

, and

qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...

. He suggests that students learn Shaolin kung fu when they are very young, progress to xingyiquan to learn how to develop internal power, and then progress to baguazhang and taijiquan to learn how to refine the power. This is also the teaching sequence used by Hung's teacher, Chang Chun-Feng. Hung believed that in practicing the xingyiquan five elements as an introduction to the internal martial arts, the student can clearly understand the way the body should be trained to move in the internal styles. If the student starts out in taijiquan, it is very difficult to develop and understand internal power. Many of Hung's students dominated the full-contact tournaments in Taiwan. One student, Weng Hsien-ming, won the Taiwan full contact championships three years in a row. Another, Huang Hsi-I, also usually won his all-Taiwan full contact tournaments with knock-outs.

References

* Miller, Dan, ''Pa Kua Chang Journal'', Vol. 3, No. 5. * Frantzis, Bruce Kumar, ''The Power of Internal Martial Arts: Combat Secrets of Ba Gua, Tai Chi, and Hsing-I''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hung, I-Hsing 1925 births 1993 deaths Chinese baguazhang practitioners Chinese xingyiquan practitioners Martial arts school founders Taiwanese martial artists 20th-century philanthropists