History of Eagle Claw Kung Fu

The history of Eagel Claw Kung Fu or Ying Jow Pai goes back to its roots to the Souhern Sung Dynasty in 12th century China, where General Ngok Fei used it to defeat Mongol invaders after learning its techniques from a monk in the original Shaolin Monastery. 

Though it started as a set of techniques known as "Elephant Style", in the hands of general Ngok Fei,it evolved into a more complex system of handwork including grappling, locking and use of pressure points. This system, under Ngok Fei, came known as "Eagle Hand" and it included Eagle Claw's famous 108 Locking Hand Techniques.

Eagle Claw's locking system grew in reknown until, according to lore, it returned to  the Shaolin monastery and its practices. Within a few centuries, Eagle Fist underwent another transformation. Under a monk named Lai Chin, Eagle Claw merged with the Faan Tzi system, which brought the elements of the lower body -- high kicks and complicated footwork and sweeps. After years of work, merging the two systems, he created "Faan Tzi Ying Jow Moon, or as its known today, "Ying Jow Pai" or Eagle Claw. 

The system has been passed from generation to generation, until the modern era, when Chan Tzi Ching, one of the most famous Eagle Claw practitioners, leraned the system. He helped found the famous kung fu association, knwon as the "Ching Mo Association."

In the 20th Century Eagle Claw was passed from Chan Tzi Ching to Lau Fat Mon to Ng Wai Nung, and finally to the present system Grandmaster, Leung Shum, who, after teaching in New York, passed the system to Sifu Dario Acosta, Sifu Julie Ann, and others in their Ying Jow Pai family.  Sifu Dario is one of the few practitioners in the Eagle Claw system who has achieved the level of Master.

Northern Shaolin Eagle Claw remains one of China's richest traditional martial arts systems. It includes  all aspects of martial arts including fighting, joint locking, weapons,  and dramatic forms, gathered over centuries. You can see some of our forms at our Youtube channel.