Yang Banhou
杨班侯
Son of Yang Luchan, creator of the compact Yang Small Frame (Xiao Jia) form and teacher of Wu Quanyou, father of Wu-style co-founder Wu Jianquan, as well as of Wang Jiaoyu.
Quick Facts
ChinaBiography
Yang Banhou, born Yu (鈺), was born in 1837 in Guangfu (Yongnian, Hebei Province). English-language sources give 1890 as his year of death, Chinese sources 1892. He was the eldest son of Yang Luchan to reach adulthood. He is known as the creator of the compact taijiquan form Yang Small Frame (Xiao Jia).
His father initially refused to teach him because of his unruly behaviour. According to Chinese sources, he was then secretly trained by Wu Yuxiang, the founder of Wu-style taijiquan, who noticed his progress; when Yang Luchan found out, he himself passed on to him the entire technique of taijiquan. His younger brother Yang Jianhou was also a teacher of the Yang style.
The Small Frame form emphasizes fast fajin techniques and joint locks. Like his father, he served as a martial arts instructor to the Manchu imperial family. His students included the Manchu cavalry officer Wu Quanyou, whose son Wu Jianquan became a co-founder of the Wu style; Wu Jianquan was also taught by him personally. He passed on to his student Wang Jiaoyu the Guang Ping Yang form, his father's original form, which Wang Jiaoyu in turn taught to Kuo Lien-ying. Chinese sources also name among his students Ling Shan, Wan Chun, Wang Maozhai, Niu Lianyuan, Jiao Liantang, Chen Xiufeng, Zhang Xinyi, Li Lianfang, Zhang Yintang and Li Wanchen.
Sources describe him as a combative man of fierce temperament; according to Chinese sources he had relatively few students, because he tended to injure opponents during training. He adopted his nephew Yang Shaohou, the son of Yang Jianhou, and trained him strictly. His own son, Yang Shaopeng (1875–1938), was also a teacher of taijiquan.