This is a little video clip of Joral Schmalle and I learning Mi Tsun I or Lost Track Art (Boxing) in Shanghai in 1996. I apologize for the video quality.
In 1996, the modernization of China was just gaining momentum. New things were being built everywhere and old city blocks were disappearing overnight. In every direction as far as the eye could see the city was covered in tall cranes and the beginnings of buildings. The glittering skyline full of skyscrapers that is Shanghai today did not exist then. In 1996, the Chin Woo Association’s old headquarters had been knocked down and they were operating out of a cramped temporary space without a real gymnasium. So we were in a lobby like space full of stacked furniture waiting for a new home.
Joral and I were not deterred because we were delighted to have found the location of the Chin Woo Association after a long search, and then to be able to meet the head instructor named Su. Su was quite small compared to Joral and I, but fiery, intense, and quick. He also had an encyclopedic knowledge of classical Chinese Gung Fu! At this time, I was a full time professional martial arts instructor in peak condition. Joral Schmalle was both my student and an amazing professional ballet star. Joral was also a highly conditioned athlete, mentally tough, and with a nearly photographic memory for movement like me.
We wanted to investigate and learn about the Mi Tsun I, or Lost Track Art (Boxing) Style. In addition to having a very cool name, this was the style practiced by Huo Yuan Jia, the founder of the Chin Woo Association, and a great hero of China. Also noting that YouTube did not exist in 1996, so there was no way to have an idea of what a given style might be like until you found people practicing it. Hopefully, you’d find real experts, with the skills. This is one reason I loved to go to tournaments, to see what people had, and were doing. In the USA, I had not found or heard of a single teacher expert in Lost Track Style. Later in this trip in Tianjin I would see some experts in Lost Track Boxing as well. However, that was later, and this was earlier.
Meeting the staff at Chin Woo, and talking to the elders, I explained that I learned Northern Shaolin in San Francisco from my teacher Wong Jackman at the San Francisco Chin Woo Association. My teachers connection to Chin Woo (or Jing Wu) was thru Hong Kong and I do not think there was much communication between these two groups at that time as Hong Kong was still British. The Shanghai Chin Woo was connected to Jimmy Woo in Texas whom I hadn’t met. They had a huge rack of Long Horn Steer horns on the wall from Jimmy Woo.
In any case, we talked about all these things and we compared our versions of Tan Teui, which were almost identical. The only real difference was they did each pattern only once per line. Tan Teui is a long sequence of punches, kicks, various strikes, and steps performed in 12 lines. In each line there is a pattern of 3 to 12 moves that is repeated. In the version Wong Jackman taught me we practiced each pattern three times. Twice on the left side and once on the right. This made Wong Jackman’s version 50% longer and favoring the left side. The Chin Woo staff were happy with my Tan Teui and admitted I was doing it the “old fashioned way” and they had changed it to make it shorter and more balanced. Huo Yuan Jia also sought out and found the art of Tan Teui and used it as a foundation form for the beginning of the Chin Woo Association curriculum. It is also said that Huo add lines 11 and 12 to the Tan Teui form that was practiced in the Chin Woo Association. Joral and I had 7 days left in Shanghai and we learned the subtleties of their version of Tan Teui and dove into Lost Track Boxing.
Su was surprised by our request to learn Lost Track style. Apparently, few people did and he was one of the only people in Shanghai who knew it. He told us that just recently, Huo Yuan Jia’s own grandchildren had visited him and studied the art. The grandchildren came all the way from Tianjin in northern China. This was the birthplace of the Huo Yuan Jia and also one of only a few cities were Lost Track Boxing was still practiced.
The reason the grandchildren came all that way to Shanghai instead of learning in Tianjin was twofold. First, their parents, Huo’s own children, were actually horrified by all the fighting, and in those days this often meant killing, and had become Buddhists, shunned martial arts, and prayed for Huo’s soul. Because of this, Huo’s own children did not have any martial skills to share with the grandchildren. They also did not learn locally in Tianjin because Huo never actually learned the family style of Lost Track Boxing. His father having many sons, and him being the last and sickly, he was forbidden to learn boxing and forced to become a scholar. His warrior spirit could not easily be dissuaded and he stole moves and secretly practiced. When a challenger had defeated all of his older brothers and his father was also too elderly to fight, Huo saved the day and beat this super tough challenger saving the family reputation. The father was now too old, and the elder sons were obviously not up to teaching him so he never learned the actual family style of Lost Track Boxing. Huo simply continued to steal moves he saw used in fights and to train himself. He created his own art with a single long form that he called Mi Tsun I, or Lost Track Art, instead of boxing. Lost Track Boxing has many forms and lots of weapons and skills – it is a huge classical system. The full system of Mi Tsun Quan was still practiced in Tianjin, but not the Mi Tsun I, or Lost Track Art, that was Huo’s personal creation. I do not know if Head Instructor Su told me the truth. I believe he was relating a true story because he was like “wow its raining Mi Tsun I students!” No one askes for many years, and then all of a sudden Su is teaching it. I have been delighted to recently see this form practiced online! Albeit a bit shorter but otherwise the same it helps me conclude I did in fact learn the real thing back then!
This clip is about 5 minutes long and begins with the Head Instructor Su showing us some new moves and correcting us. Then, we review from the beginning. At this point in the video we were past the half way point but with many more moves before the end. Huo may have only created a single form but it is pretty long like Tan Teui. Guess Huo liked his hand forms long and strenuous to build strength and determination.
To me the flavor of the movements is simple, direct, powerful striking with different parts of the fist and palm. Mi Tsun I is mostly punches and palm strikes with few kicks. The movements are long and stances low. The end of the form features more joint locking techniques looking very like Eagle Claw Boxing, chopping palms, (think Karate chop!), and throws. It has a distinct feeling that is certainly different from any other style or form I have studied.
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