Higher and Deeper – Mike Farr on Ba Fang Tong Bei Quan
Mike Farr throws student Matt Thomas to the canvas
“There are millions of moves in Kung Fu, but morality must be the first one.”
This is the key message Mike Farr delivers to students in Cardiff who study Zhong Hua Si Mian Ba Fang Tong Bei Quan – a Chinese martial art with roots tracing back to the eleventh century – under his expert instruction.
Through hard work and dedication Mike, 44, of Marshfield, attained the privileged position of being the only man in the Western world to learn the techniques of this traditional branch of Kung Fu at first hand.
“I’m the only white guy, the only English speaking guy, the only guy outside of China to be taught the system. There are people in China begging to be on it,” he said.
Mike fostered a strong interest in practicing and teaching martial arts, beginning in his late teens. So when he went to China in 2000 to teach English on a Voluntary Service Overseas programme with his wife, he was determined to do some training while he was there.
Upon hearing about Ba Fang Tong Bei Quan – which translates as “Fist from the back in every direction” – through a friend in China, Mike contacted the master Wang Hon Jun to ask if he could learn from him. Despite repeated refusals, Mike persisted and he was eventually accepted to become a disciple and learn the ancient art.
Mike recounted the words his master said when he later asked Wang Hon Jun why he had agreed to teach him. “I looked at you and I could see that you had a good heart and a good head. You’re a moral person,” he said.
To learn from Wang Hon Jun, it was necessary for Mike to become part of the family.
“It was all done behind closed doors, and he had to adopt me to teach me. It’s real Kung Fu, not the crap you see on the telly. It can only be passed from father to son,” said Mike.
Mike spent three years training in China and living in the home of Wang Hon Jun, practicing martial arts skills for 10 hours a day during the week and longer at weekends.
“My wife got through a lot of classics while we were there, but she can handle herself too,” he said.
“We’ve got two daughters, and my youngest copies me. They have no choice – it will be passed on to them!”
Mike now runs two classes of Ba Fang Tong Bei Quan in Cardiff every week. On Wednesdays he instructs the full group in the Eastern Leisure Centre in Llanrumney, and on Mondays he takes his senior members for a smaller session at a church hall in Splott.
In order to honour a promise he made to his master, Mike carefully hand selects those he teaches.
“There’s about 30 under my instruction, and they are my family.” he said.
“But you get people coming in after a Jackie Chan film has been on TV, or sometimes coming in with a fresh black eye saying ‘it’s something I’ve always wanted to do’. Were they saying that before the black eye?
“Everybody is able to achieve it through practice and dedication, but you have to have the right attitude.”
Mike is also reluctant to teach children under the age of 12 because of the potential damage they could do with the skills of Ba Fang Tong Bei Quan.
“I wouldn’t teach this to youngsters for fear of them not just hurting but killing someone,” he said.
“This isn’t a sport. It’s got a severe edge. They wouldn’t let us go anywhere near a competition.”
The classes are run on a subsistence basis, costing just £5 for two hours of instruction. Mike says this is honouring another promise to Wang Hon Jun.
“I do a bit of supply teaching as well as teaching control and self defence classes. But I only do those things to allow me to carry on with Ba Fang Tong Bei Quan.
“It’s not about making money with this – I’m doing my work for my master. He’s not rich at all.”
Matt Williams (left) and Matt Thomas in combat
Matt Williams, 27, is a restaurant manager from Rhiwbina who has been studying under Mike Farr for 10 years. He described the essential elements of starting to learn Ba Fang Tong Bei Quan.
“Practising the two stances we use is the most important first step. Once leg strength is developed it can progress through the body,” he said.
“At the beginning people also learn basic balance points. The idea is to control other people’s bodies through them, so that you are keeping light and not using energy.
“The point is to learn how your own body works so you can improve it and apply it.”
Mike says Ba Fang Tong Bei Quan has made irrevocable but utterly positive changes to his life. He said: “It’s a way of life. It has definitely taken over, but in a good way.”
“I practise all the time. If I’m not physically practising, I’m thinking. If I’m not thinking, I’m physically practising. Quite often I’m doing both.
“It keeps getting higher and deeper. The higher up you climb, the more you see.”
Thanks for a good write up and I hope a little more publicity gets more genuine interest so this remarkable opportunity can be shared with good people. Matt
I would like to clarify that this art though called by many as a type of tongbei as are white ape (baiyuan), five elements , ma family and several others are actually schools of tongbi. In Chinese characters these are written differently and have different meanings though the bi character can also be pronounced bei (which is a point of confusion), tongbei also known as heyitongbei (unifying (the body) through the back) is a very different art with a different founder, lineage, movement philosophy and body structure…different forms and number of movements…they are as different as shaolin and taiji.
As I said there is much confusion about this even in China within the tongbi community, part of the reason for this is the past secretive nature of tongbei practitioners, almost no martial artist even in china can recognize tongbei even if they see it (unless they have learned it before). For my authority on this subject I am a 15th generation master of tongbei quan which exists in three places in the world , shanghai, tianjing and seattle…
I know this might seem contrary to what many people think but it is good to have clarity of martial arts families so we can celebrate our own characteristics strengths and names.