Splashing Hands

[yamabushi]

I am looking for some history about "splashing hands." I have seen that a video exists by James McNeil. Has anyone seen it? Can anyone point me in the right direction? Is it a subset of a system? Is it a Wing Chun term?

 

[7starmantis]

Originally posted by yamabushi
I am looking for some history about "splashing hands." I have seen that a video exists by James McNeil. Has anyone seen it? Can anyone point me in the right direction? Is it a subset of a system? Is it a Wing Chun term?

Well, I'm not sure that I have found a good resource but I found a Web Site that gave this...

"Splashing Hands is an extremely practical, no-nonsense art. It features quick shuffling footwork, similar but faster than that used by the famous Mohammed Ali, and low-focused straight leg kicks. These are combined with jabs, punches, elbows, hammer-fists, chops and finger pokes thrown with blinding, machine gun-like rapidity. Opponents have a difficult time defending against the kind of attacks carried out by a fighter trained in Splashing Hands because of the speed with which the techniques are delivered as well as the sheer number of strikes and kicks the opponent has to deal with in a short period of time".

I found several websites that are offering the complete Splashing Hands system on two VHS or DVD's. I'm allways a little leary of video systmes that are "the complete and utmost street fighting system". But I haven't heard of splashing hands until right now so maybe I've just stumbled onto some bad websites. Try a google search for "Splashing Hands".

7sm

 

[Samurai]

I have one of the two video from James McNeil on Splashing Hands. It is BORING!! The techniques are ok, but they are presented in a way to cure the insominac. They look a lot like Wing Chun meets Kenpo Karate.

--Jeremy Bays

 

[yamabushi]

Thanks for the help....It seems from the web site that it is one of those systems that is rather unusual. Perhaps it is a subsystem or a subset of some well known system. I ordered the videos and perhaps they may be boring. I find,however that videos that are all jazzed up are trying to sell the practitioner rather than allow him to inject his own personality. Once they arrive and I view them, I may feel they are boring...or not...I will post an opinin in case any one else is interested. If any one has found more info, I am still researching. Thank you

 

[streetwise]

Splashing Hands is not a style, it is, as you surmised, a subset or group of techniques using a single concept. Many Southern CMA systems (like WC)will have something similar, though you will not find the techniques called "splashing hands", I think that the name is something James McNeil came up with.

 

[keith1892]

No, Splashing Hands is a style of Chinese gung fu. www.littlenineheaven.com shows the Sifu James McNeil, who learned from Master Haumea Lefiti. The system is very effective and has internal aspects in it. If you want to learn Splashing Hands, I strongly suggest finding a teacher and using the video as a reference and/or guide. Sifu James McNeil is my teacher and is an amazing martial artist. Don't base the system or the teacher off of these videos.

 

[Touch Of Death]

This has little to do with your question, but a good splashing hands demo, is done by one of the ghosts in the movie, "Big Trouble In Little China"
Sean

 

[Black Tiger Fist]

No, Splashing Hands is a style of Chinese gung fu. www.littlenineheaven.com shows the Sifu James McNeil, who learned from Master Haumea Lefiti. The system is very effective and has internal aspects in it. If you want to learn Splashing Hands, I strongly suggest finding a teacher and using the video as a reference and/or guide. Sifu James McNeil is my teacher and is an amazing martial artist. Don't base the system or the teacher off of these videos.

Not to bust your bubble or diss your sifu in anyway ,but "Splashing Hands" is not a traditional chinese martial art. It is a creation of Mc Neil's or his sifu. This does not mean it's not/is effective though.

Many have done this learned a number of techniques and then labled it with their own name. I really don't know much about Mc Neil ,but it seems noone knows much about Mc Neil except those that buy his books and are students of his or within his lineage.

This is from the website you posted in your thread.

Later in Taiwan he learned 'Splashing Hands' from a famous general. Before he left Taiwan he asked his teacher where he could finish his training in Splashing Hands. His teacher gave him a letter to give to Master Ark Yuey Wong asking him to accept Tiny as his student. At first Master Wong refused claiming he knew nothing of the style. However, with Tiny's persistence he was finally accepted.

Ark Wong Yuey is known for many styles ,but i've never heard of him having any knowledge or anything to do with "Splashing Hands" ,plus he's a name that comes up alot from the mouths of many fruads within the CMA community.

Ark Wong Yuey is a name that brings many a TCMA stylist a strong since of hatred ,because it is said he taught anything to anyone for a price. So many ppl claim him as their teacher even those that teach nothing but kenpo/kempo hybrids.

I'm not saying that Mc Neil is a fake or fruad because i don't know him ,but he's surely a secretive person.

jeff

 

[Tony]

I believe this Art was taught to the Emporer's bodyguards.

 

[Black Tiger Fist]

I believe this Art was taught to the Emporer's bodyguards.

Sadly, just about every style claims that samething.

Ok here's some new info Splashing Hands does exist ,but it's not a style like Mc Neil claims. It's a ging or type of power generation.

I still think it's something that Mc Neil or his sifu is trying to claim though ,as a style.

jeff

 

[wude108]

Sadly, just about every style claims that samething.

Ok here's some new info Splashing Hands does exist ,but it's not a style like Mc Neil claims. It's a ging or type of power generation.

I still think it's something that Mc Neil or his sifu is trying to claim though ,as a style.

jeff

whats up jeff? splashing hands is a sub system of the southern five animal/family system... and regarding some other info posted, master lefiti learned the system in taiwan from a retired general who gave him a introduction letter to gm wong.. and i am told by my teacher that gm wong taught the system to 2 main people sifu lefiti and his grandson. hope that helps....

peace,

matt

 

[punisher73]

I copied this from a reply that Dr. Chapel (sorry but can't get the accent over the 'e') over from the kenpo forum here. This might explain why Ark Wong is associated alot with kenpo and why "splashing hands" seems alot like kenpo in appearance.

---------------------------------------------------
Although GM Wong was the acknowledged head of Five Animal Qung fu, he also was the only acknowledged master of Splashing Hands in North America. It is here where the legendary Haumea “Tiny” Lefiti landed with a letter from his original teacher when he was discharged from the Marine Corp. “Tiny” was older than Parker but they shared Polynesian Roots and a military kinship because he too had served in the coast guard. Parker however was lucky enough to be stationed in Hawaii which allowed him to continue training with Chow and receive his black belt in Kenpo, Jiu-jitsu, and karate-do while still in the military.

The Chinese influences are great in many areas, from a number of sources. The earlier foray into Chinese Arts saw Ed Parker Sr. beginning to emulate in many ways his Samoan Senior at Ark Wong’s. Having a similar body build made Parker very comfortable with the explosive handwork of “Splashing Hands” he saw with “Tiny.” To put it mildly, “Tiny” was a monster who had himself, a great deal of influence on martial artists in Southern California. Consider him a bigger, stronger and yes, faster Ed Parker and you have “Tiny” at that stage of Parker’s development. Ultimately, “Tiny” left to join Ed Parker’s black belt Tino Tuiolosega in the formation of the original “Lima Lama” organization at Parker’s suggestion. This influenced others like the late Sal Esquivel to spend time at Ark Wong’s as well. Danny Inosanto also was no stranger to Ark Wong’s school before leaving to be with Parker, before going on the road once again with Bruce Lee and also studying Kali and Silat.

Make no mistake. Ed Parker was a student of Ark Wong, and although he spent time with many Chinese Masters, Ark Wong was probably the biggest Chinese influence with Five Animal and Splashing Hands. Even more than his relationships with James (Wing) Woo, or Lau Bun who was his primary Hung Gar influence.

----------------------------------

It doesn't give the history of splashing hands, but it explains where the kenpo connection comes in to play.

 

[Blending Hand]

If you are looking for some information about "Splashing Hands," try researching Mok Ga. I believe that is the original name of the system studied by Mr. Lefiti. I had the opportunity to attend the Christmas party at Sifu Douglas Wong's school (White Lotus) a year, or 2 ago. At the party the students gave a demo of Mok Ga "Splashing Hands." Sifu D. Wong was a first generation student of Ark Wong, as well as Mr. Lefiti (his portrait is proudly posted on the wall with his additional masters). The demo was great, like everything that comes out of Sifu D. Wong's kwoon. This is one of the systems that is taught at the school. The excessive slapping is a unique characteristic of the system that is also strikingly similar to Mr. Parker's American Kenpo. My take on it is that it ensures relaxation while striking/blocking/checking. A "whipping torque" is what I use to describe the blocks and strikes of the art (hence the Kenpo saying that, "Strikes are the intermissions of relaxation.") Very powerful, sometimes difficult method of execution, since relaxation during combat is not a natural reaction. This makes Mr. Chapel's earlier post make even more sense about the Parker(Kenpo)/Lefiti(Splashing Hands) connection. I am convinced of it! Mr. Chapel is a great source of knowledge on this topic, being that he was around Ark Wong's school in L.A. Chinatown for some time. In addition, Mr. Chapel was the only person to respond to my post on a kenpo forum a while back, in regards to Mr. Lefiti. This is a part of EPAK history that many are not aware of. There is definitely a connection there somewhere! Hopefully, he can add something to this. As far as the name "Splashing Hands," I am not sure of its origin, or if it was made up over the years. I hope this helps you out. One more observation that I have made is that Aside from Kenpoists, Lima Lama practioners exhibit these same slapping characteristics as well. Some of their techniques I have seen seem even softer, in nature, than some Kenpo techniques. As we know, Mr. Lefiti was one of the founders of the Lima Lama system. Who knows?? Just observations!!!

Ever since I saw an old 8mm (black n white, no sound) 3-4 minute video, actually it was copied onto beta (yeah, remeber beta) of Mr. Lefiti I have been somewhat on a quest to find out more about him. Mr. Chapel's description of him was right on. Simply, awesome! I really do hope it helps you out.

Also, a quick side note: In regard to my screen name "Blending Hand." It is not associated with Splashing Hands. I have never studied this particular system. It basically refers to parries, or the passive, aggressive motion of redirecting an attack. Just FYI

Take care,
Jay Brett

 

[Darksoul]

-Blending Hand, WELCOME to Martial Talk!!! I have absolutely nothing to contribute to this particular thread, but wanted to say hello. Need to get something going here in the Chinese forum, but I'm merely a beginner to Kung Fu. Must think of new topics. Anyways, welcome again!!

A---)

 

[Blending Hand]

Thanks for the nice welcome! Been reading for awhile and thought I would jump right on in. Look forward to talking in the future.

Jay

 

[Kembudo-Kai Kempoka]

Interesting addendum to this. While watching some footage of Mr. Parker in the old days, one can see a transition from a rigid, robotic Japanese influence, to a whipping, circular and semi-circular influence that took place over a couple of years (before/after). Mr. Chapel commented that the difference was Mr. Parkers training in Splashing Hands. His movements from Hawaii were closer to the Japanese pre- his exposure to A. Y. Wong, but had become faster and more fluid "rapid-fire" after his exposure to Mr. Wong and Mr. Lefiti.

There are still a few alive who were there, and part of it as it unfolded. I hope we will be able to successfully preserve their recollections for posterity's sake.

Dave

 

[wude108]

whats up all, my sifu has studied splashing hands for a while now and has done a lot of research on this subject and could not find anything about mok gar other than douglas wongs info... that doesnt mean it isnt but if you look at mok gar there are a lot of kicks that do not conform to the theory used in splashing hands.. also my sifu has contacted gm wongs grandson in the past regarding this system and he mentioned nothing about mok gar... there are also animal forms to this system but we cant find anyone who still practices or learned them because of master lefiti's death.. do you have a copy of that 8mm??? personally i love the system....



peace,

wude

 

[wude108]

sorry but i forgot to mention that i believe master lefiti's family were and still are lima lama??? ok i think thats all........


peace

 

[keith1892]

Yes Sifu McNeil is a highly secretive person. This system was called "Splashing Hands" b/c it is actually called San Soo, which is a general term that refers to street fighting. This title was given to it to distinguish it from other arts. It is in fact a system that was developed at the shaolin temple in the late 1700s. Nothing is made up of it and is an effective system. For those who want to know or are interested, the animal forms are still preserved among few. Master Ark Yuey Wong kept his knowledge of the art as a secret for he wanted only those who thought were worthy to learn it.

 

[warriorofheaven]

Greetings,
I am Richard Baron the instructor of the Little Nine Heaven Chicago Branch. My website http://www.kungfupower.com/. I will take the time to answer your questions as long as they are respectful. You can email them to me at warriorofheaven1@aol.com I will email you a response and you can choose to post it if you wish. My Kung Fu brother Chris Lomas in England deals with pretty much the same set of questions we are getting from this site at this link.
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51159&page=3&pp=15&highlight=splashing+hands He does a good job of explaining, so I will not repeat those answers, but I may clarify them if you don’t understand something. I will be happy to answer any other questions. You can also get information in the numerous articles written about Little Nine Heaven and the various systems of Kung Fu we instruct at http://www.littlenineheaven.com/articles.html L9H is also featured in the current May and June 2006 issue of Inside Kung Fu Magazine. You can also tell by the depth and breathe, of the articles that there is plenty more evidence regarding the back ground of our systems. We also have schools literally all over the world.
http://www.littlenineheaven.com/schools.html
As well as quite a bit of positive feedback.
http://www.littlenineheaven.com/feedback.html

Splashing Hands Questions.

First take a look at what system we are discussing. This is some text from my website to help fill in some blanks about what we are discussing.


Splashing Hands Kung Fu:
Splashing Hands Kung Fu is an extremely practical, no-nonsense, street-effective fighting system. It combines jabs, punches, elbows, hammer-fists, chops and finger pokes, thrown with blinding, machine gun-like rapidity, along with quick, shuffling footwork, and low-focused straight leg kicks. It prepares the fighter physically and mentally to engage any combat or tactical situation with or without weapons. You will learn that a fight begins as soon as the opponent begins fighting you in his or her mind, and as soon as this is expressed, you must explode into action. Splashing Hands is an infighting system. Working close to the opponent is of paramount concern. Double blocks, single blocks and strikes, along with sophisticated rolling hands techniques – simultaneously defensive and offensive, draw the opponent into an attack and pull him dangerously off balance. Once the opponent goes down, the fighter continues to stick to him, keeping up the attack until the opponent has been subdued. Splashing Hands was developed in the early 1700s at the Shaolin Temple of Northern China. Historically, it was only taught to a few students: the monks in charge of guarding the temple gates. But even after it was introduced to fighters not associated with the Shaolin Temple, it never became a widely-practiced art. Those who knew the effectiveness of the system were reluctant to share their knowledge with others. However, the style was taken to Taiwan where a former nationalist army General Wong taught a few selected students, among which was Haumea F. Lefiti.
The Lineage:
Splashing Hands was introduced to the United States by Haumea F. Lefiti (1930 – 1973). Know as ‘’Tiny’’ to his Friends, the towering over 6 foot Samoan was a great teacher of the martial arts. In his early 20's, he joined the US Marine Corps during the Korean War, and fought for his country. At one time when attacked by the communists he was separated from their troupe. Tiny roamed the hills trying to find his group. It was 80 days before he was reunited with the American troops. During the 80 days, he survived on plants and wild life, with nothing to drink except snow water. He was also active in many battles and fought to attain 'Pork Chop Hill.' He received many medals, including a silver star for valor. Tiny expected his students to be honest, patriotic, and to have respect and love for all people. He always stressed that the strong should always help the weak, that one should always be modest about one's abilities, and never be the one to start a fight, but also never to run. When he returned to the United States from Taiwan Tiny continued to train with Master Ark Yuey Wong. http://www.littlenineheaven.com/spteacher.html
http://www.kungfu5family.com/ Ark Yuey Wong Website.

Lao Tzu James W. McNeil was one of Tiny’s top students, and is now the lineage holder of the Splashing Hands System. Lao Tzu James W. McNeil has been learning, living and teaching the inner mysteries and secrets of the traditional, internal kung-fu arts for forty years. In the course of history, knowledge like his was normally reserved for the elite few within the closed circles of the oriental Taoist societies. Until McNeil came on the scene, it was unheard of for any outsider, let alone a white American, to be accepted as a student by the great martial art Masters of China and Taiwan. McNeil has had the rare privilege to study with such greats as Master Hsu Hong-Chi, ‘The Man With the Magic Hands' (Hsing-I & healing arts, Sifu Chi Chen-Yen (Tzu Men-Chuan -the rare and deadly art of ‘Poison Fingers'), Hsu Ting-Ming (Chinese psychic healing), Master Pan Wing-Chow (original Chen style Tai-Chi) and perhaps the greatest of them all, the living legend, Master Chiao Chang-Hung (Little Nine Heaven Kung-fu, Shih-Shui, Pa-Kua, and Taoist mediation). Sifu Richard Baron is one of Lao Tzu James W. McNeil’s top students.
http://www.littlenineheaven.com/sifumcneil.html Information on Lao Tzu James W. McNeil. He trains every day, his normal training day is at least four hours or more of practice alone, not counting anytime teaching. He has been able to do many things in his training that I have never seen any other martial artist do. Like break bricks with a poke from his finger tips, drill a hole through a brick with his finger, cause the Chi and blood to go into his hands causing them swell for use in both fighting and Chinese healing, and many other interesting and amazing feats of kung fu. You can actual see him doing these things in his iron hand video. He is also lightning fast, and the lineage holder of a number of systems of martial arts. I have been training with him for many years, and I can vouch for his integrity and his desire to help his students achieve success in their lives and their Kung Fu.
About Me www.kungfupower.com
Sifu Richard Baron is the founder and instructor of the Chicago branch of the Little Nine Heaven Internal Kung Fu School. He studied a variety of martial arts since 1988, since 1997 he has been training with Lao Tzu James McNeil, learning some of the higher levels of martial arts including Hsing-I, Splashing Hands, Ba Kua, Chen Tai Chi Shih-Shui, Tzu Men Chuan, Iron Hand Taoist Meditation, and a variety of other martial arts and skills. Sifu Richard Baron has taught more than a thousand students Splashing Hands Kung Fu.

Some video of Splashing Hands Kung Fu


http://www.manchesterkungfu.com/syllabus3/index.html Make sure you observe both the simple and long techniques. The simple ones actually tell a person more about the style than the long forms. Also the speed of the system is slowed down for the clip it is actually much faster. You can see that the Splashing Hands system is completely unique, not a hybrid of Kempo or any other art. You can also refer to my kung fu brothers comments here about that as well. As far as a relationship to Kempo to the Splashing Hands system, it is possible the origins of Kempo are found in the Splashing Hands system considering that Ed Parker was one of the students ArkYuey Wong and Master Lefiti. I have never heard my teacher say anything about Ed Parker or Kempo for that matter. Two of my school brothers are ‘’masters’’ of Kempo, that in the past ran and owned Kempo schools and both suggested that the origins of Kempo may be found in Splashing Hands not the other way around. Again go look at the system and see for yourself. Doesn’t look like anything close to Kempo to me. I am not however a martial arts historian and am not making this claim about Kempo's origins, although I have seen evidence to prove some of that, if some one can prove this theory that would be interesting to some of those reading this.
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51159&page=3&pp=15&highlight=splashing+hands .


Any further questions email them to me. If you are interested in becoming a student or checking out the school feel free to call or email. The school I run is small focusing on small classes 3-10 people, intensive classes, and private lesson. Every one receives lots of personal attention and the focus of classes is fighting for life and death situations (combat), and for improving health. I hope you have found this information helpful in your search for quality instruction.

Regards

Richard Baron