Liu He Ba Fa (Water Boxing)
六合八法拳Internal style also called the water fist. Documented history begins with Wu Yihui (1887–1958), Hong Kong inventories it as intangible heritage, we did not find it on China's national list.
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About Liu He Ba Fa (Water Boxing)
Liuhebafa quan, the fist of six harmonies and eight methods, is also called the water fist (shuiquan) because of its flowing movement and ranks among the internal styles alongside taijiquan, xingyiquan and baguazhang, and Chinese Wikipedia states that it combines their essence. According to school websites and Kung Fu Today, the six harmonies join body with mind, mind with intent, intent with qi, qi with spirit, spirit with movement and movement with emptiness, and the eight methods are qi, bone, shape, following, lifting, return, restraint and concealment. According to Kung Fu Today the long form has 66 stances in two parts, no other source confirmed the number, the only weapon of the style is according to the same website the sword Qinglong jian, and the qigong set is called Zhuang fa. We have no description of the technique from a federation-level source or a heritage list.
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Tradition attributes the style to the Taoist Chen Tuan of Mount Hua in Shaanxi Province, born around 871, Paul Dillon (YMAA, 2003) calls this a legend, and Kung Fu Today notes large gaps in the evidence before the Daoguang era (1821 to 1850). The documented history begins with Wu Yihui (1887–1958), born in Tieling in Liaoning Province, whom the Hong Kong inventory of intangible heritage names as the teacher of the modern form of the style under the Guangxu Emperor. According to English Wikipedia he began studying the style in 1900, in 1901 was accepted in Beijing as a student of Yan Guoxing and Chen Guangdi, was the first to teach it publicly, in the thirties in Shanghai, and in 1936 Zhang Zhijiang appointed him head of instruction at the Central Guoshu Academy, and Dillon also confirms 1936. The years of his life differ between sources, Dillon gives his death as 1961, Wikipedia 1958 citing his family. According to Wikipedia, Wang Xiangzhai sent four of his yiquan students, Han Xingqiao, Zhang Changxin, Zhao Daoxin and Gao Zhendong, to study with Wu Yihui. Wu Yihui's student Chan Chor Fan, later Chan Yik Yan (1909–1982), brought the style to Hong Kong and began teaching there in the forties of the twentieth century. The Hong Kong inventory of intangible heritage lists the style under code 3.69 as Hua Yue Xin Yi Liu He Ba Fa Chuan. We did not find it on China's national intangible heritage list, and the style does not appear in the IWUF rules for traditional wushu from 2019.
History
Tradition attributes liuhebafa to the Taoist Chen Tuan of Mount Hua in Shaanxi Province, who according to Paul Dillon (YMAA) was born around 871. Dillon calls this a legend, and Kung Fu Today notes large gaps in the evidence before the Daoguang era (1821 to 1850). The sources give neither a founder nor a year of origin.
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The documented history begins with Wu Yihui. The Hong Kong inventory of intangible heritage states that modern liuhebafa can be traced back to Wu Yihui under the Guangxu Emperor. According to English Wikipedia he was born on 30 November 1887 in Tieling in Liaoning, began studying the style in 1900, in 1901 was formally accepted in Beijing as a student of Yan Guoxing and Chen Guangdi, taught in Shanghai in the thirties, and in 1936 Zhang Zhijiang appointed him head of instruction at the Central Guoshu Academy, which Dillon also confirms. According to Wikipedia he died on 29 March 1958 in Shanghai, citing his family, while Dillon and the British school DMAA give 1961 and Kung Fu Today gives his birth as 1886. A blog about Wu Yihui places the start of his training with Yan as early as the winter of 1896, so the sources differ on the date of acceptance as a student too. Wu Yihui's student Chan Chor Fan, later known as Chan Yik Yan (1909–1982), brought the style to Hong Kong, where according to the inventory he began teaching in the forties of the twentieth century. The Hong Kong inventory lists the style under code 3.69 as Hua Yue Xin Yi Liu He Ba Fa Chuan in the domain of social practices, rituals and festive events. We did not find an item for liuhebafa on China's national intangible heritage list.
Technique
We have a description of the technique only from school websites and Kung Fu Today, a federation-level or heritage-list source is missing. They say the six harmonies (liu he) join body with mind, mind with intent, intent with qi, qi with spirit, spirit with movement and movement with emptiness. The eight methods (ba fa) are qi, bone (gu), shape (xing), following (sui), lifting (ti), return (hai), restraint (lei) and concealment (fu), and the British DMAA adds an outer list (rising and falling, movement and stillness). Chinese Wikipedia says the style combines the essence of xingyiquan, baguazhang and taijiquan. According to Kung Fu Today the long form has 66 stances in two parts, the first 32 forming the upper part, other sources give no number. The style's only weapon is, according to the same website, the sword Qinglong jian, Tao Pingxiang says it has no other, and DMAA writes that some lineages add weapons. The qigong set is called Zhuang fa and Wu Yinghua, son of Wu Yihui, taught it.
Today
In Hong Kong the style is listed in the intangible heritage inventory under code 3.69 as Hua Yue Xin Yi Liu He Ba Fa Chuan, and the lineage descends from Chan Yik Yan (1909–1982). We did not find it on China's national intangible heritage list. Liuhebafa is not a separate competition discipline of wushu and does not appear in the IWUF rules for traditional wushu from 2019. We did not find a federation that would oversee the style, nor any grades specific to the style.
Did you know
English Wikipedia states that Wang Xiangzhai, the founder of yiquan, sent four of his students, Han Xingqiao, Zhang Changxin, Zhao Daoxin and Gao Zhendong, to study with Wu Yihui, known as the four diamond warriors of yiquan, and that in 1928 he said publicly that among the people he had been unable to defeat was Wu Yihui. Both claims rest only on Wikipedia, which cites the website of the style.
Frequently asked questions
Is liuhebafa on an intangible heritage list?
In Hong Kong yes, the intangible heritage inventory lists it under code 3.69 as Hua Yue Xin Yi Liu He Ba Fa Chuan. We did not find it on China's national list.
Who brought liuhebafa to Hong Kong?
Wu Yihui's student Chan Chor Fan, later Chan Yik Yan, began teaching there in the forties of the twentieth century, according to the Hong Kong inventory.
What does the name liuhebafa mean?
Six harmonies and eight methods. School websites say the six harmonies are the base and the eight methods the application, we have no federation-level source.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.