Dojo On The Go: Long Fist

Yueh Fei, (February 15, 1103 -1142 A. D.) led a short, yet very accomplished life. Growing up impoverished in the Henan province, he was a hard worker and highly educated. There are conflicting reports as to when he first began his martial arts training with spear and sword master Cheng Guang. Some state that he began his training at the age of 11, while others state that he began at age 15. He later learned archery from Shaolin martial artist Zhoug Tong. Yueh Fei balanced his martial arts training with academic studies. He was a student of the Chinese classics such as Confucianism and later became a gifted poet as an adult.

At age 19, Yue Fei joined the Song Army and became a successful general by the time he was twenty-five. He was heavily influenced by the book The Art of War by Sun Tzu, which he read extensively as a young boy. Using much of the strategy from this book, as well as streamlining the fighting methods used by his military, his troops became very effective and powerful fighters. He modified the complex Northern Shaolin Long Fist fighting style into an easier to learn numbered system. This enabled his troops to learn this style at a quicker, yet equally effective pace. Yue Fei also created various other fighting methods that include Eagle Claw, various boxing styles as well as his own spear form. His troops won close to 126 battles, reclaiming much of the territory that was take over by the military of the Gin Dynasty.

However, corruption within the government would lead to Yue Fei's untimely death.

His Gin enemies bribed Song officials to stop Yue Fei from reclaiming the land that was taken from his people. He was arrested and executed at the age of 38. Some accounts state that his food was poisoned while in his jail cell. For twenty years, he was considered a war criminal. He was later exonerated by Emperor Xiao Zong and is now considered a national hero in China.