KUNG FU
My History
I have been doing Kung Fu with The Iron Ring since 2004, studying under Sifu James Banks, who has studied under, among others, Bow Sim Mark, who is widely known and respected throughout Boston’s Chinatown (http://taichiarts.com). It is more than a martial art to me; it is group of individuals I call family, a source of inspiration, and a constant learning foundation from which I grow both personally and professionally. The philosophy and methods I learn from Kung Fu help me not only improve myself physically and mentally, but also enable me to help my patients through opening their eyes to new concepts.
Brief Background on Kung Fu
“Kung Fu” means “skill” and “effort”. It can be used to describe anything that a person needs to spend time training in and becoming skillful in. Kung Fu is the oldest form of martial arts, originating in China, and has influenced almost all styles of martial arts seen today. There are many stories of the history and origin of Kung Fu. The story that I was told by my teacher, Sifu James Banks, is the following:
"In the year 527 AD, a monk known as Da Mo (Bodhidharma) arrived at the Shaolin Temple. Dat Mo is believed to have been an Indian monk who was probably born in Kanchipuram near Madras. Da Mo travelled to the city of Kuang, now known as Canton, where he was granted an audience with the Emperor at the time, Wu Ti of the Liang Dynasty. The Emperor had instructed local Buddhist monks to translate Buddhist texts from Sanskrit to Chinese with the intention that the general populace would then have the ability to practice the Buddhist religion. After his audience with the Emperor, Dat Mo travelled to a monastery in the Kingdom of Wei before finally arriving at the Shaolin temple. When Da Mo initially arrived at Shaolin, he was refused admittance, perhaps because he was considered a foreigner. Rejected by the monks, Da Mo went to a nearby cave and meditated by staring at the cave wall for nine years until the monks recognized his religious prowess and admitted him. Legend has it that he bored a hole through one side of the cave with his constant gaze. Once admitted to the temple it is believed that Dat Mo found his Chinese disciples too weak, both physically and mentally, to practice the intensive meditation required by his path to enlightenment. Dat Mo is regarded as the founder of Chan Buddhism which is probably better known by its Japanese derivative, Zen Buddhism. To rectify monks' fitness problem, Dat Mo devised exercises combining physical movement and breathing, thus strengthening the bodies and minds of his disciples. This enabled them to pursue the spiritual path with more vigor. Since Dat Mo was himself of the warrior Caste (Ksatriva) it is possible some of the exercises were drawn from the Indian martial tradition. It is evident, therefore that early Shaolin Kung Fu was largely internal in nature, being designed for the improvement of health, control of the mind and the perception of the Buddha nature. " (1).
Kung fu can be broken down into two categories: the external, or hard styles, and the internal, or soft styles. External styles teach about speed, power, jumping skills, and building a strong, agile body. Internal styles teach the body to be relaxed, with movements that are soft and flow together. Many of the movements are representations of the behavior of animals – tiger, crane, snake, eagle, monkey, to name a few. There are many styles of Kung Fu based on the different regions of China; some of the more widely known styles, which I practice, are Northern and Southern Shaolin. Northern Shaolin styles emphasize kicks and foot techniques, due to the fact that Northerner’s lived in the mountains and had strong, agile legs. Southern Shaolin style emphasizes hand techniques, as Southerner’s were frequently manning boats, on which they needed strong, rooted legs but had their hands free for work and sparring. Kung Fu also teaches many weapon styles, including the broad sword, the gim, the sabre, the staff, the three-sectional staff, the spear, the butterfly swords, and the rope dart, to name only some.
THE IRON RING ACADEMY
The History of The Iron Ring
The Iron Ring was started by Sifu James Banks in 1990 based on his varied and well-cultivated training, which includes many styles of martial arts including: Mun Duk Kwon (Korean Karate), Hung Gar Kung Fu (Southern style), Shaolin Long-Fist (Chinese Wushu, Northern style), Praying Mantis and Crane, Shaolin Chuan-Fa (Animal Boxing), and Tai-Sing Pi-Kua Men (Monkey Axe Fist). The Iron Ring is a small group of practitioners who have come together over the years as a family through a mutual love and respect for the martial arts. The Iron Ring includes members from all different backgrounds and experience levels. The Iron Ring derived its lineage from the Wu-Seng (protector monks) that were used as bodyguards during the Ching Dynasty. The Iron Ring practices a combination of traditional Northern and Southern Shaolin Kung Fu with a focus on Tai-Sing Pi-Kua Men.
The Iron Ring strives to promote the concepts of: Self Control, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Motivation, and Self Discipline.
“In order to achieve a high level in this system, one must pay close attention to the basics. Why? Because the advanced techniques are actually variations of the first skills learned”
– Sifu James Banks
“Warriors and the wise achieve understanding by the long difficult path of discipline. They bear the unbearable and embrace training that is arduous. Small minds and treacherous hearts will never comprehend this. Warriors train to eliminate violence; true masters are ever prepared for peace.”
– Shaolin Unknown
Throughout the years, we have trained in many places and different spaces, including outdoors in all the elements. We were captured training by the river in Brighton a few times by Boston Globe photographer Essdras Suarez.
