Pai lum

Pai Lum (Bai Long, White Dragon) Kung fu is a martial arts style that was established by Daniel Kane Pai.
History
Daniel Kalimaahaae Pai was born in Kameula, Oahu, Hawaii on April 4, 1930. Daniel's father was Joseph B. Pai Sr., born January 11, 1885. US census records indicate that Joseph was Hawaiian. Mary K. Po, Daniel's mother, was born about 1896 and is enumerated as being part Hawaiian and part Asian based on the US census report.
In a 1970's Pai Lum manual (Christopher Casey period working with Daniel Pai) it states that at the age of twelve (~1942), that Daniel's grandfather, "Po Fong Pai" had Daniel sent to the White Lotus Monastery, Byakurenji, on the north coast of Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, to study Kobayashi-ryu karate-do. This is improbable since World War II had just begun with Japan and Daniel Pai was living with his family when the Pearl Harbor attack occurred December 7, 1941. This story was probably invented to protect the sources of martial arts back then that were teaching to the non-Chinese, non-Japanese and non-Hawaiian it is reported.
Daniel Pai was said to be a student of "Henry" Seishiro Okazaki in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, who taught the non-Japanese and got in trouble with his homeland. Okazaki created Danzan ryu jujitsu and was the founder of the American Jujitsu Institute. Also, Richard Takamoto, a relative by marriage to Okazaki reportedly taught Daniel Pai Okinawan Kempo, and issued Daniel Pai an 8th higher level paper in the early 1970s.
Pai Po Fong, the "grandfather" is a fusion of Daniel Pai's father's surname, mother's surname and his "Uncle" Hiram Fong's surname, the late US Senator from Hawaii.
After the end of World War II, Daniel and his stepfather Herman Kane went to the "Big Island" Hawaii, near Hilo to work at the Parker Ranch. His "cousin" Ed Parker was part of that family ranch. Daniel and his father-in-law herded cattle like cowboys of the "Old West" it is stated from stories.
In late 1951, Daniel joined the U.S. Army and fought in the Korean War during 1952 and 1953 according to his DD-214. He reenlisted in 1953, he spoke of being in Vietnam in 1954 and retired from active duty in December 1955. In May 1962 he was given an honorable discharge after finishing his time in the U.S. Army Reserve. Medals that he was awarded include 4 Bronze Stars, Korean Service Medal, U.N. Service Medal, and the National Defense Medal. Daniel told of numerous experiences from Korea and Vietnam, as well as other places in the world where he found himself.
June 20, 1960 was his graduation date from the Chicago Medical College, Calcutta, India in Homeopathic Medicine which led to his being called Dr. Pai.
The early 1960s found Daniel working at 20th Century Fox as a stuntman. Some of the movies he performed stunt work in include Blue Hawaii and ' with Elvis Presley and in The House of Bamboo and Rampage with Robert Mitchum. He also appeared in a few episodes of the television series "Hawaiian Eye".
Pai's fighting style was developed from years of training in Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian and Okinawan martial arts to produce an amalgamation of these different movements. It was told that he studied at Mas Oyama's Kyokushinkai karate dojo during the 1960s and was known as a "strong fighter" from Hawaii. Daniel Pai spoke of "the Cat" Gogen Yamaguchi, the Goju Ryu instructor as a teacher.
In addition to being the director of the Pai Lum Association during these early years, he served as chief instructor for both the United States Karate Association (U.S.K.A.) and the Canadian Fire Dragon Association while also serving on the board of directors for the East Coast Karate Federation.
This era peaked with more than fifty Pai Lum and Fire Dragon schools operating in North America. These students are known as the "old school" lineage. Pai was living in Hartford, Connecticut until 1976 when he decided to move to Florida where he resided for the next seventeen years. Some of his first students who were trained in mostly Kempo styles stayed close to Pai during these following years as he developed new students whom he trained in Kung Fu and Tai Chi movements over the next two decades to come. White Dragon became the common reference of Pai's martial arts system.
The U.S. White Dragon Martial Arts Society was formed and produced a team that on July 4, 1976 was awarded a Certificate of Merit for superb achievement during the Kuoshu demonstrations held in Taipei, the Republic of China, by Tsai Hung-Wen, President of the Kuoshu Federation. His team participation in the 2nd World Chinese Kuoshu Tournament in 1978 at Taipei led to Pai being appointed "Delegate at Large" for the Chinese Kuoshu Worldwide Promotion Association. The 3rd World Chinese Kuoshu Tournament was organized by Daniel K. Pai and was held in Hawaii in 1980.
During 1983, his team participated in the 4th World Chinese Kuoshu Tournament in Taipei, Taiwan. On November 10 he was elected as Vice President of the 2nd Executive Board, Chinese Kuoshu Worldwide Promotion Association (CKWPA).
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) appointed Pai as Delegate at Large to the National AAU Kung-Fu Committee and the International Kung-Fu Association (IKFA) representing the Florida State Region in April 1984. This announcement was made by Donald Buck, Chairman of IKFA and the National AAU Committee.
The summer of 1989 saw his organizing the 6th World Chinese Kuoshu Federation tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the last event he personally oversaw as his tenure as President of the United States Chinese Kuoshu federation branch came to an end by the following year.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Daniel Pai worked in association to the commercial seafood industry in the southeastern United States with several of his senior Florida students.
Every year he kept busy teaching martial arts clinics in his affiliate schools across several states. He also taught regular classes in Florida locations every week right up to the last days of his life.
In late 1992, he sought to organize all his Pai Lum schools with several associated systems under an umbrella organization called World White Dragon Society. This process was still underway when he passed on. During these final months he finished two new manuals and four video tapes for instructional use.
On May 28, 1993, while in the Dominican Republic, Daniel K. Pai died and was laid to rest with full military honors, at the Hawaiian National Cemetery.
Early curriculum
The first student in Pai Lum Kung Fu was NOT recorded by Daniel Pai Who met him first is not known ... but the many followers of Daniel Pai hardly know each other. At that time the curriculum within Pai Lum was Goju Ryu Karate and also the roots of Pai Lum Kempo. Pai had Goju Ryu Rank but he already wanted to move away from the crowd.
In 1971 Pai relocated to Hartford, Connecticut and in 1975 he opened Park St. White Dragon Kung Fu in Hartford and taught many people either from that location or they traveled from their schools to see him. A few names: Dave Everett, Dennis Decker, Anthony Galiano, Thomas L. Turcotte, Jeffrey K. Rathnam, Lauren Porter (ex-wife of USKA champion Don Collyer) Jeffrey Guifffre, David L. Smith, Phil Hunter, Chow Lum, Clarence Cooper, Pat McCarthy Karen A Tolczyk (aka Tiger), John Guerrera, Fred Schmitz, Bobby Dutcher, Jimmy Wilson, Kurt Lovelace (aka. "Green Eyes"), Dennis Hollinger, Danny Kabol, Bob Day, Charles "Chuck" Morano, Paulette Leavy, Robert Schoolnick, Cosmo Rusch and many others not named here.
It was at this time that Kung fu forms were first introduced to the public and specifically named Pai's Family System and as source of endless argument that persists today, adding Kung Fu forms from various styles, including Hung Gar routines from Bruce Currie and Pat McCarthy , as well as Choy Li Fut, Lau Gar, and northern style Chang Chuan forms. Certain Pai family forms were introduced, as well, and taught alongside of the Kempo methods. The Fire Dragon school, fueled by heightened interest in the Chinese Martial arts via the Bruce Lee craze, was a commercial success for a few short years in Ct. but continued to do well in Florida, even today. Throughout the 1970s, Pai Lum ran two schools in Florida, one in Melbourne and another in Cocoa Beach, Both were run under Fred Schmitz: there was Robert (Bobby) Dutcher, who ran the Melbourne dojo, and Jimmy Wilson who ran the Coca Beach dojo. Struggling with high rent and not enough paying students, the Hartford school, run by David Everett, moved several times until in June 1976 Pai moved to Daytona Beach, Fl where he spent the rest of his life (or up the road in Orlando with Glenn C Wilson). It is amusing to this author that tales of the missing...having seen, fed, carried and served the teacher daily since early 1977, wonders where these people went who tell the tale here. During these years the Pai Lum curriculum was refined and taught through travel to Pai Lum association schools in Pennsylvania, Nova Scotia, North Carolina, Connecticut, Florida, and Missouri. David Everett was Pai Lum chief instructor in the Hartford area at his White Lotus Martial Arts Center, even after he left Pai's organization in July 1980. Chuck Morano continued Pai's legacy in the southwestern area of Ct. in his Chinese Boxing Kwoons, and finally in his Black Tiger Fighting Society. Mr. Morano suffered a near life ending automobile accident in 1999, in his official capacity as much decorated Police Detective in a Connecticut Police Department.
The typical instruction during the heyday of Pai Lum in the 1970s was a true reflection of the times. There was no "set" Pai Lum specific curriculum overall although there were a large and increasingly growing set of "Pai Lum" forms based directly on appropriated Northern and Southern Chinese styles, and this curriculum was being ever augmented as the schools themselves developed, with all types of influences being brought into the mix. So, essentially, a typical curriculum for the first five years that a student, beginning at a white belt and progressing onto a black belt, would have received during the 1970s would consist of the following myriad routines and activities.
All beginners were taught 6 months of traditional Karate. Not Japanese style but very specifically Korean Tae Kwon Do. The reason for this was that most instructors newly arrived into Pai Lum during the 1970s came from a hard Karate background, this often but not always being Tae Kwon Do. This was interlaced with Yoga (specifically Hatha Yoga) wherein true meditation was emphasized along with deep breathing and arduous stretching by maintaining Yoga postures for extended periods. The meditation then emphasized was specifically Zen meditation. Students were encouraged to read such works as D. T. Suzuki "Introduction to Zen Buddhism" and both Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English's translations of [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1569372829 "Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters"] and [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0679776192 "Lao Tsu: Tao Te Ching."] Not to be confused with these works, the "I Ching", used as a book of divination, was also popular at Pia Lum schools during this time. Meditation was emphasized as a time to clear ones mind or else to move, step-by-step, through ones forms.
Only after the six months of mandatory "hard" style karate were students introduced to the basic and more fluid "soft" forms of Chinese-style Kung Fu, professed to be the true curriculum of Pai Lum. The first true Chinese form taught students then was the "Outer Tiger" followed by Flowing Motion 2, and Flowing Motion 3. The Pai Lum "Outer Tiger" is indeed taken directly from a Hung Gar form, with the main difference being the angles of motion moved from 45 degrees to 90 degree movements. See, of all people, Bruce Lee performing the first few moves of a Hung Gar "Outer Tiger" using very rapid fluid motions, then contrast that with the this somewhat slower more rigid Pai Lum "Outer Tiger"] (being the two-part beginning of this "snake form" is the "outer tiger") -- but look for the utter similarity in the first few movements as exhibited in both versions of the essentially identical form.
Nunchakus were introduced to students as early as the second year, as was the staff, both for their exercise utility and as weapons training. Nunchakus strengthened ones wrists and grip. Wooden staffs were used as "jump ropes" for both forward and backwards jumps while being held in the palms of both hands. This is were the flexibility of the Yoga training truly made itself felt. Even some of the more advanced forms, such as "Mighty Wings of an Eagle" that required moving from ultra-low stances to explosive jump kicks, benefited from extensive Yoga practice.
As one advanced through the curriculum, a block, for example, changed from a hard Karate-style closed fist swinging down while standing in a forward leaning rigid stance to a soft slap of an open hand to the most advanced level block that consisted of merely turning ones body sideways. Simplicity reigned at the advanced levels: no wasted motions, few if any ineffective moves. One major difference between beginner and advanced training was the emphasis on Chi or "inner strength" training among advanced students. The New Brunswick school in Canada had a mainland Chinese instructor who emphasized continuous non-stop fluid motions in forms along with deep short-cut Chi techniques.
This resulted in an importance difference in executing a form or "kata", as this meant that a form such as the "Outer Tiger" might be executed as one continuous motion from beginning to end without interruption, a single fluid interconnected dance. This meant that a jerky beginners attempt at the "Outer Tiger" would look very different from a Master's "Outer Tiger." Much reinterpretation of forms occurred because of this notion of continuous motion among the advance belts who were form experts within Pai Lum at that time.
As an example of an advanced Qi technique taught within Pai Lum's inner circle during the 1970s, one was hot-cold hands. Apparently, so the Pai Lum lore of the time went, the Chinese had long developed short-cut techniques to achieve what Indian Yogis spent years perfecting: namely, methods of rapidly altering autonomic bodily responses by conscious meditation and control. The aim of these shortcuts was to master the control of the flow of Qi within the body. One such technique passed on from the New Brunswick school at one Summer gathering in Maine consisted of "hot-cold" hands. In a double-kitchen sink, place one vat of water filled with ice cubes next to another vat of water that is nearly boiling. Clench you fists up and thrust them into the ice cube vat. Hold one's hands there until they begin to hurt, perhaps for 30 seconds. Then, thrust ones hands into the hot water vat, but now opening ones hands wide, with fingers stretched far apart. Allow the blood to rush into ones hands. Then, again clenching ones hands into fists, again thrust ones hands into the ice water vat. Do this process for up to 30 minutes each day. After a period of several months, one need only clench ones fist, then rapidly open ones hands when one grabs someone, and blood will rush into your hands, making them quite hot. The idea here is to gain control and redirection of Qi. Advanced Pai Lum practitioners were reputed to be able to make someone run away, simply by projecting Qi "fear" into an opponent.
Much of Pai Lum knowledge during the 1970s was dispersed through the camps held in the forest in Maine each Summer. Typically, Pai Lum members from out-of-state schools would converge on the Hartford, Connecticut, dojo, and together travel as a group up to Maine. Here, one would be able to train for up to a month with Pai, Dennis Decker, Dave Everett, Paulette Leavy, and all of the instructors from all Pai Lum schools at the same time. Training typically began with a 5 mile dawn run up and down the rainy forest roads followed by cool downs on the camp grounds, breakfast and then morning training and afternoon training sessions. There was ample opportunity to receive one-on-one training with anyone else at the camp, including Pai. The camp, situated on a lake, had cabins, but some people preferred pitching tents. There was a sumptuous wooden gym for group meetings, a cafeteria style building for meals, and plenty of grassy fields for training. One advantage of attending camp each Summer was the rapid advancement of both knowledge and rank, as well as the intermixing of forms and self-defense techniques so that the disparity of forms and methods between schools was somewhat leveled-out.
From all of the above discussion, it should clearly emerge that most of the accusations of Pai Lum not being a "pure" system are essentially true. As an amusing aside, one form known within Pai Lum today as the "Two Man Fighting Form" was culled together from a store bought photo illustrated martial arts textbook during a Maine Summer camp retreat (circa 1974) by two instructors—so as to have something interesting to show at the then upcoming Greensboro, North Carolina martial arts tournament. But how pure is any system that is passed on and interpreted from one person to another? Pai Lum is very much a hodgepodge of systems as regards the incorporation of Northern and Southern Kung Fu forms within the Pai Lum curriculum. As for specific self-defense techniques, Pai Lum allowed for and even eagerly welcomed techniques from any and all systems that might aid in self-defense. For example, the Melbourne, Florida school often invited instructors from Aikido, Judo, , Boxing, and Street fighting to demonstrate and even teach self-defense techniques to special sessions of advanced Pai Lum students and instructors. Pai Lum instructors found no shame in knowing the best methods from any other system to help with self-defense. As to the Pai Lum forms taught within Pai Lum, the origins for most are lost. However, an advanced forms expert verging on a "master" level, would certainly not have been prevented from creating an entirely new form piecemeal, as many were no doubt so created by mixing animal movements from one known form with another, but interspersed with entirely new movements created entirely ad hoc. Oddly enough, it is such forms as these self-created ones that most deserve to be called Pai Lum rather than the derivative ones such as the Hung Gar adapted "Outer Tiger."
Because of this history of inclusion of forms and techniques within Pai Lum, there really is little need for controversy as to any legitimate continuation of Pai Lum from its beginnings in the late 1960s and 1970s under different instructors and schools bearing the name Pai Lum today, as no two schools even then taught the same forms exactly the same exact way. Also, most of the principal students of Pai from the early years of Pai Lum are well enough known to one another. But this divergence is much pronounced when it comes to self-defense techniques, as outlined above by the utterly inclusive nature of Pai Lum during its formative years in the 1970s. Pai Lum is and has always been a system dedicated to teaching the most efficient techniques available for self-defense. As such, it would not be out of character for a Pai Lum school today to bring in a Krav Maga expert to teach pure self-defense techniques to a class.
Curriculum dispersion
Daniel Pai personally taught his students several curricula, and in fact, what he taught changed over the years as he added to his instructors' versatility. Many attempts were made, via his personal students, to develop a set curriculum, with good success coming during the Hartford years and also in his Fl schools. This varied curriculum resulted in confusion among Pai Lum instructors who would occasionally compare what they had learned. Today, this continues to be the case as instructors broaden their martial arts experience through cross-training and are surprised to find out what other Pai Lum students are practicing.
Many of the practice forms (or katas, to use the Japanese equivalent term) in Pai Lum closely resemble those of the Hung Gar system, but tend to be longer and more drawn out, purportedly for the purposes of building endurance. For example, Pai Lum's 'Outer Tiger' form doubles many of the 90-degree, 4-direction movements found in the original Hung Gar form into 45-degree, 8-direction movements. This is an opinion held by someone who has only viewed the public demonstrations of Pai Lum obviously for the style is not fundamentally a hard fist system. Pai also stated a fact that no one person could move effectively from a position of tension to a position of tension. To illustrate this tense the muscles in your arm and punch. Notice how the movement is slow.
Seemingly no two of Daniel Pai's high-level black belt students got there via the same curriculum. The test for first level black belt was, however, very brutal in the early days of his stateside teachings. When one of his students did earn a black belt, it was many times said to be as much a rite of pain as of skill.
Kuoshu Federation
Discussion about Pai would be incomplete without reference to his 25 years supporting the Kuoshu Federation of Taiwan. This group of martial artists and ex-military Chinese formed an association to bring traditional forms of Chinese martial arts to the world. Dedicated to the preservation of classical family systems that number in the hundreds as to practice, scope and definition, the Kuoshu Federation represents the democratic Taiwanese in their struggle to fend off the dissolution of history and tradition to the precepts of communism. As a patriot and former enlisted man Pai did all he could to promote the freedom of the individual as demonstrated by his life style.
Philosophy
Both Taoism and Buddhism have always been at the heart of Pia Lum.
There is an emphasis on Japanese Zen meditation as the technique of choice to learn focus and concentration and to gain clarity of mind. Students are encouraged to read such works as D. T. Suzuki's "Introduction to Zen Buddhism"] and other works of Buddhism.
For Taoism, students would do well to read Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English's translations of "Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters" and "Lao Tsu: Tao Te Ching." Dragon patches have always been worn on Pai Lum uniforms to attest to its Taoist heart, along with the Ying/Yang symbol. Symbolically, for Pai Lum, the dragon symbolizes the ability to move in any direction at once, to transform into any animal at will, and to be in the midst of difficulties without concern.
Not to be confused with these works, the "I Ching", used as a book of divination, was also popular at Pia Lum schools during this time. Meditation was emphasized as a time to clear ones mind or else to move, step-by-step, through ones forms.
Taoism, Buddhism and the I Ching are all in keeping with Pai's Chinese/Hawaiian heritage.
Controversy
The historical legends as told above about Pai and the origins of Pia Lum has never been substantiated and is even considered dubious by many within Pai Lum. Issues arise when one finds that there has never been a "White Lotus Temple" in Okinawa and that the Okamura mentioned within the legend's text is more likely to have been the founder of the "Okinawa Kenpo Karate" system, namely Shigeru Nakamura. It also raises the question as to why a master of a Chinese martial art would send his grandson half a world away to study an Okinawan martial art system when he could have taught him. Moreover, the date of Pai's alleged travel to Okinawa seems highly improbable, since according to the legend he would have travelled there in 1942, after the Second World War in the Pacific began, which is clearly very improbable, given that Okinawa was one of the Japanese home islands. Another controversy is that Daniel Pai was often called "Dr. Pai" by his students but to date, there is no record of Daniel Pai going to medical school or achieving a doctorate from any academic institution.
Those who knew him well know that he achieved a doctorate of homeopathy and was a skilled physician in the classical Chinese practitioner tradition. He practiced chiropractic, accupressure, bone and sprain setting and medicine making. Eclectic and an odd communicator, he did not always impress his audience and often seemed determined not to do so on purpose.
In 1974 the Gong Yuen Chuan Fa Federation was established to govern the ranking and curriculum taught. Additionally, Pai accepted Glenn C. Wilson as a student with Glenn maintaining the rank he held in Gong Yuen Chuan Fa and with the Kuo Shu Organization in Taiwan, that was 3rd higher level. The traditional blend of two great systems - White Dragon & The Way of the Hard & Soft fist began.
Before his death, Pai proclaimed only 5 active families of Pai Lum Tao.
In 1993, while in the Dominican Republic, Pai died and was laid to rest with full military honors, at the Hawaiian National Cemetery. A legacy of knowledge and wisdom was left with many devoted practitioners of Pai Lum across several decades. Depending on the school and location, you will get different responses as to who exactly should have been named the head of the system. Some contend that no one should be the head of the system since each succeeding master develops something new. Besides the many non-aligned instructors, such as former instructor, Pai Tao Chi (David Everett), two publicly competing factions exist within Pai Lum, namely the White Dragon Warrior Society and the World White Dragon Society.

The White Dragon Warrior Society, which is headed by Pai Pao Lung Huit (Glenn C. Wilson) supported by his wife Hilda Guerrero Wilson, and students. Under the direction of Glenn C. Wilson, a Board of Directors was appointed during 1994 to protect and preserve the curriculum of the Pai Lum family, as Glenn had promised his teacher. During 1994 and 1995 there were a few individuals who would not conform to the by-laws of the World White Dragon Kung Fu Society and there was a division in the organization.
The other competing faction is The World White Dragon Society made up of early students of Daniel K. Pai including Pai Shao Li (Steve Mathews), Pai Li Lung (John Weninger), Pai Si Tai Gung (Chuck Morano),Pai Hsin-Lung (Philip Hunter), Pai Ying Lung (Robert L. Skaling-Pai), Pai Bok Hok (Marcia Pickands), Pai Lung Li (Honey Silk), Pai Hsieh (Lauren Porter), Pai Ban Lung (John Riddick) and many others.

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