After the Communist's took over mainland China, entry into the country by westerners came to abrupt halt. The People's Republic of China, as it was later named, was even inaccessible to many Asians. The communist takeover of China forced many of it's top martial arts instructors to flee to Taiwan and Hong Kong. For decades the P.R.C. was off limits to Americans. Even after President Nixon opened relations with mainland China it would be years until Americans were granted entry into the country. To get an idea of what training in mainland China is really like, Inside Kung Fu Presents talked to San Clemente, Ca. kajukenbo and wushu instructor Gary Forbach, one of the first Americans to visit and train there. He describes what led up to his being invited to visit and train in the P.R.C. and what it was like once he got there.
IKFP: Before we discuss your training on mainland China can we talk a little about your background?
Forbach: Of course.
IKFP: When did you first start training in the martial arts?
Forbach: I started training under Master Aleju Reyes in 1967. Master Reyes taught kajukenbo in Vacaville Ca. and Suisun City Ca.. I trained under him until his death in 1977. Since his death I have been training under the founder of kajukenbo, Professor Adriano D. Emperado.
IKFP: So your primarily a kajukenbo stylist?
Forbach: Yes, my primary style is kajukenbo, but I also teach my advanced students tai-chi, traditional kung fu and contemporary wushu.
IKFP: How did you get involved in the Chinese martial arts?
Forbach: Well kajukenbo contains many techniques from Chinese kenpo and Sil-lum Pai kung fu, so technically you could say that kajukenbo stylist do study the Chinese martial arts. I took the study of the Chinese arts a little farther by actually studying wushu, Chinese weapons, and tai-chi.
After many years of training in kajukenbo and competing in tournaments I told Master Reyes that I would like to learn some weapons techniques. He then bought me a set of Chinese broadswords and referred me to Kajukenbo Won Hop Kuen Do instructor, Eric Lee. Sifu Lee taught me the spear, double broadswords, and the chain whip. I have trained with him off and on since 1974. In 1979 I started to train in Chang Chuan wushu under Anthony Chan. I studied under him off and on until 1985.
IKFP: How did you come to be invited to train in the P.R.C. ?
Forbach: In the 70s and 80s I competed on the national circuit
first in fighting and then in weapons and forms divisions. In 1980 I was national champion in soft forms and in 1981 I was national champion in soft forms and weapons. It was after winning these titles and with the help of Anthony Chan that I received a letter from the P.R.C.. It was in Chinese so I had to take it to a Chinese restaurant to find out what it said. What it was, was a invitation from the All China Sports Federation to visit and train in the P.R.C..
IKFP: That must have been very exciting.
Forbach: It was more than exciting. I had always hoped that someday I would be able to visit Taiwan or Hong Kong, but I never thought that it would be possible to visit mainland China, the birthplace of the martial arts.
IKFP: When did you go, and how long were you able to stay?
Forbach: We arrived in the P.R.C. on March 17, 1981 and stayed until April 4, 1981.
IKFP: Who else went with you?
Forbach: There were 6 of us. Anthony Chan and Diana Hong from San Francisco Ca., Leonard Trigg from Portland Oregon, Adriana Chacon from Visalia Ca., Judy Sullivan from Boston Mass., and myself.
IKFP: Was this everyone's first visit to the P.R.C. ?
Forbach: Anthony Chan is native Chinese so of course he had been there before, but it was a first for the rest of us. In fact it was a first for any American martial artists.
IKFP: What was it like when you first arrived in the P.R.C. ?
Forbach: One thing that I immediately noticed was that security was very tight. We first landed in Shanghai. When we started to land I could see that there was only one other plane at the airport. This plane was a heavily guarded government plane. When we landed we were told that we would have to de-plane temporarily. When we stepped out of the plane we had to walk between 2 lines of soldiers with automatic weapons all the way to the terminal. As we filled out entry documents our plane was searched. To this day I have no idea what they were looking for. After the landing in Shanghai I started to have second thoughts about the wisdom of visiting a communist country.
When we arrived at the Beijing International Airport it was the same situation. There were several military policemen armed with automatic weapons on the tarmac when we disembarked. I didn't know how to feel. I was very excited at the thought of being in China, the birth place of the martial arts, but I was also concerned with being a American in a communist country.
IKFP: Did this concern spoil your stay in China ?
Forbach: No, not at all. Once we met the representatives from the All China Sports Federation we felt relieved because Anthony Chan was very good friends with the vice secretary general Mr. Jiang Xian Bu. We were also welcomed by Madame Wang Mei Yu, the vice secretary general of the Beijing Sports Federation. As soon as we got out of the airport everyone we met embraced us with friendship.
IKFP: What were some of the things that stood out as you drove around the city?
Forbach: The first thing you notice is the hundreds of people on bicycles. You also see horse and ox drawn wagons everywhere. As you get into the downtown areas you notice the Russian influence in the architecture of the buildings. When we were there it was evident that the newer buildings were being built with western designs. Before we got to the hotel we stopped at Tien An Men Square. It was very impressive to see the spot where over 1 million Chinese gathered in the 1940s to witness Mao Tse Tung's declaration of "the People's Republic of China. It was at that time that the changes came about which lead to the development of wushu as we know it today. It's a shame that Tien An Men Square will only be remembered for the recent slaughter of the anti-communist protesters.
IKFP: How were you living conditions in Beijing?
Forbach: They were excellent. The hotel we stayed in was modern and spotless. The hotel staff were very friendly and treated us well. Everyday there was an incredible buffet of different types of food, including American food.
IKFP: Is it true that you got to visit the famed Shaolin Temple in Henan Province?
Forbach: Yes. We was lucky enough to be the first westerner's to visit the temple since the communist takeover. It was a martial artist's dream come true to visit the birthplace of the martial arts.
IKFP: Describe for our readers what was taking place at the temple when you visited it.
Forbach: At the time I was there the temple was being refurbished so it could be made into a tourist attraction. I could see that they were digging up and cleaning stone carvings that were buried during the cultural revolution. There were only 7 monks left at the temple and I did not witness any martial arts training going on there, although there was quite a bit of martial arts training going on at the village surrounding the temple. The village had a wushu team and while I was there a Shorinji Kempo delegation from Japan was also visiting. While I was there I got to attend a demonstration that they put on for the village.
IKFP: What type of training did your group get involved in?
Forbach: We were taken by bus each day to the grounds of the Beijing Zoo. There we spent 4 hours a day learning the original Chen form of tai chi chuan. We were very fortunate to have perhaps the leading instructors in the Chen form teaching us. Master Feng Zhi Qiang co-wrote the leading book on Chen Tai Chi Chuan and was a student of Chen Fake a descendent of the founder. He also held a prestigious position with the Wushu Department of the National Physical Institute. Each day he would teach us the application of the form. Madame Kan Guixiang was a coach of the Beijing Wushu Federation and an instructor for the Beijing Physical Education Institute. She taught us the pure performance of the form. It was a very interesting way to learn.
We were very fortunate to have been taught the Chen style of tai chi chuan. It is the original form that all the other forms such as the Yang and Wu styles came from. There are only a handful of instructor's in the United States that know the Chen style. In fact there are not a whole lot of instructor's of the Chen style in China. The Yang style is the most prevalent style today because of it's simplicity.
We also got to visit the Beijing Professional Wushu Team on 3 occasions. They're workouts were very impressive. These people work out 6-8 hours a day 6 days a week. They live, eat, and sleep at the training compound.
IKFP: We see wushu as being very graceful and acrobatic, but how is it as self defense?
Forbach: In terms of the difficulty of what they're doing and it's beauty, they impressed me as being perhaps the best martial artists in the world. But when I watched them sparring, I felt there were things they could learn from what we're doing in America, especially in the area of combinations, angles, and timing. They have such a strong foundation. I thought if the level they have been able to reach with forms is any indication of what they could do in the future they'd have one hell of a fighting style.
IKFP: What were your feelings after your return to the United States?
Forbach: I came home with a more enlightened view of the Chinese martial arts. I had believed that China was the stronghold of the old martial traditions. I saw that it was, but it was also the stronghold of new and exciting martial concepts. China's martial arts are changing, experimenting, and improving. After being there I would highly recommend that any martial artist that has the opportunity to visit China, by all means, do it.
IKFP: Since your return have you remained active in the Chinese martial arts?
Forbach: Yes. In fact I held the first wushu tournament in the United States in 1984. It was a big success and we were honored to have Li Xia, Yu Shao-Wen, Dong Hong-Lin, and Zhou Jing-Ping, from the Beijing Wushu Team as guests and judges.
I remain active in the International Kajukenbo Association, the United States Wushu Association, and the Amateur Athletic Union's Chinese Division.
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