~Hou Quan Hou Quan , literally Monkey Fist, can be traced back to the Han dynasty and is recorded in the Mi Hou Wu dance performed at the Emperor's court. Contrary to popular beliefs, there are actually a number of independently developed systems of monkey kung fu. Examples includes Xingzhemen named after the protagonist Sun Wukong of the popular Ming dynasty novel Journey to the West, Nanhouquan or Southern Monkey Fist originating from the Southern Shaolin Temple as well as the more well known Tai Sheng Pek Kwar Moon style of Hong Kong. The houquan style from the Emei region, taught by the famous "Monkey King" Xiao Yingpeng and others, was also used as the basis for the modern wushu variant of monkey style (and monkey staff) that is often seen in demonstrations and competitions today. Each independent style has its own unique approach to the expression of how to incorporate a monkey's movements into fighting. Hou Quan may have contributed to other styles as well. For example, Wang Lang, the 17th century founder of Northern Praying Mantis Boxing (tanglang quan), was said to have borrowed the footwork of the Monkey style to complement the extremely fast handwork of Praying Mantis Kung Fu. Tai Sheng Men Tai Sheng Men, or "Great Saint" Kung Fu, was developed near the end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) by a fighter named Kau Sze from a small village in Northern China. Legend states that while serving a sentence in prison, he observed a group of monkeys from his cell. As he studied their movements and mannerisms, he found that they combined well with his own Tei Tong style. While exact circumstances of Kau Sze's inspiration remain legend, upon his release he developed his new style of fighting and dubbed it 'Tai Sheng Men' (Great Saint Style) in honor of the Monkey King Sun Wukong in the Buddhist tale Journey to the West.(excerpt from wikipedia)~ hi everybody, once again and as always thanx for the well wishes and commentary on my images.i've been pretty busy lately with work and my new life.so far nothing but positive things have come my way. yesterday i talked to one of my bestest friends, star, who some of you might remember from my hommage to her a while back. she's living in texas now and doing well. being able to laugh with her really boosted my morale.man is it good to have friends like her,the rest of the clique and of course you guys and gals out there. well i'm off to eat dinner and catch a few zzz's have a fun week. *hugs and regards*, till the dragon flies again, lee