The Traditional Chinese Kung Fu Bench- An Article by Russell Suthern, Chief Instructor WCMA
Imagine the scene.
You are wandering down a bustling back alley in 17th Century China.
Rickety houses are squeezed together either side of a dirt track road.
People bustle to & fro on some errand or another.
Many just sit by the roadside on a rustic assortment of benches & stools,
Playing cards or Mah Jong, or just smoking their pipes & watching the world go by.
On the corner of the street sits a road side cafe.
Patrons sit on long benches in front on crudely hewn tables, drinking tea or rice wine, or tucking into a steaming bowl of congee (rice porridge.)
The air is full of noise & smells & bustle.
A mysterious stranger sits at one table, sipping their tea & minding their own business.
But the fine clothes & the bag at the side attract the attention of a passing street gang.
This could be the chance for some easy pickings…
Slowly they edge closer to the cafe, talking among themselves, trying to appear inconspicuous.
Like a pack of jackals they creep closer to their prey… But they have been spotted along time ago & they are in for a nasty surprise…
The mysterious stranger leaps up, grabs the bench seated upon & like a lightning bolt crashes into the gang, striking this way & that like a thunderbolt.
The innocent looking bench becomes an instrument of destruction as the lone warrior whirls it about, lashing out & striking home with every part- the top, the edge, the legs, every inch of the bench is used to strike & pummel the villains until they turn tail & run, leaving their unconscious brethren lying in a mass of broken tables & crockery.
Calmly the lone warrior sets the bench back onto the ground, sits down & continues with sipping tea…
Sounds like a scene from a Kung Fu movie, doesn’t it?
But these movies, like all good myths & legends, are based in reality.
(If you want to see a great movie featuring the bench, watch “Young Master” with Jackle Chan- a classic!)
Back in the 17th & 18th centuries, these long, slim oblong benches would be a common sight in every cafe & on every street corner in the far East.
They would be crudely hewn, but strong & sturdy, made to withstand a lifetime of rough use & heavy bottoms!
Often called the Ma Deng, or “Horse- Bench” because it looks a bit like a headless horse, the bench is also commonly known by it’s slang name, the Gong Fu Deng, or Kung Fu bench.
Although the correct term for Martial Arts in China is Wushu, the common slang term Kung Fu or Gong Fu is now widely recognized.
In ancient China, most ordinary people could not afford expensive weapons like swords, so they would use whatever they could find around them. Hoes, staffs, fans, water carrier poles, even chopsticks could be turned into deadly weapons.
Amongst this genre of makeshift weapons, is the bench.
This item of furniture makes a great weapon. It’s hard & heavy & can be used to deliver a wide variety of strikes & blocks.
This is one of the rarer weapons these days, but several clubs do still teach their own version of the Bench form.
It’s a great form for developing strength & stamina & many of the moves can be adapted to suit a modern chair or stool.
You can’t carry a sword around with you, but you can pick up a chair to defend yourself!
It’s a fantastic form to watch & to learn, full of large, impressive sweeping & spinning movements.
Hard work, but incredibly rewarding!
Even though China is hurtling headlong into the modern world, not every area is moving forward at the same pace.
Visiting some of the smaller villages is like stepping back in time, where you can still see the village elders, whiling away the day, sitting on their old rickety benches, drinking their tea, smoking their ubiquitous cigarettes & setting the world to rights.
The bench form is not just exercise. It is not just self defence.
It is a link to China’s past history & tradition.
I love to think that when I’m performing my bench form, hundreds of years ago, a Chinese Martial Artist would be practising the same moves.
I just love that unbroken chain into the history of the Asian Martial Arts.
This is why I am incredibly proud to be able to teach this form to my students & keep this tradition alive.
The form will be taught as a ten week course at the end of the year.
If you don’t have a bench, don’t worry as I can make you one!
With this article you can see some photos showing a variety of benches I have already made, in all shapes & sizes.
If you are interested in this course, please talk to your instructor for details.
I can’t wait!
Russell Suthern
Chief Instructor
WCMA