History and Lineage of Master Gong Shaolin Tongbiquan (鞏式少林通臂拳):

Master Gong Chengxiang (鞏成祥, 1892–1980) was one of the important inheritors of a rare combat-oriented tradition that combined Shaolin Zhou Tong Fists and Legs (少林周同拳腿), Shaolin Buddha Guardians Boxing, or Shaolin Fohanquan (少林佛漢拳 or Shaolin Fohai Quan 少林佛海拳), and application and strength methods of Cangzhou 24 Style Tongbiquan (滄州二十四式通臂拳). 

Born in Longyao, Hebei Province, near the Cangzhou martial arts region, Gong came from a family with a strong martial background. His father, Gong Meilin (鞏梅林), was a Qing Dynasty martial arts graduate (Wuju 武舉人) who had studied traditional fighting methods and military skills. After his father’s early death, Gong Chengxiang was raised by his uncle Dong Jiezi (董介子), a master of Shaolin Fohaiquan, who introduced him to classical Shaolin boxing, weapons, and traditional combat training.

During his youth, Gong Chengxiang studied a wide range of martial arts, including Shaolin Fohaiquan, broadsword techniques, staff methods, and other traditional weapons. He later continued his studies with Master Gong Yulong (龔雨龍), learning advanced weapons systems such as the three-section staff, chain techniques, night battle broadsword methods, flying knives, and meteor hammer. Through these teachings, Gong developed a deep understanding of traditional Chinese martial culture, where martial arts were not only physical skills but also methods of discipline, survival, and battlefield application.

Gong was later introduced to Master Liu Zhensheng (劉振聲), a descendant of the Tongbiquan tradition and student of Liu Yuchun (劉玉春), who was also connected with the famous martial artist Huo Yuanjia (霍元甲). Through this transmission, Gong mastered Tongbiquan principles, emphasizing explosive power, body coordination, speed, and the use of the whole body as one unified force. He also became familiar with the practical fighting methods of Shaolin Zhou Tong Quantui, a system known for its powerful leg techniques, jumping movements, and direct combat applications.

In 1928, Gong Chengxiang entered the Central Martial Arts Institute of Nanjing (中央國術館), one of the most influential martial arts institutions of modern China. There he trained alongside famous martial artists and exchanged knowledge with masters of different styles. Together with Cao Yanhai (曹雁海) and Liu Jingyun (劉景雲), he contributed to the preservation and development of a practical fighting system that combined the principles of Tongbiquan, Shaolin Fohaiquan, and Shaolin Zhou Tong Quantui. Unlike modern performance-oriented Wushu, this system maintained a strong emphasis on effectiveness, speed, and real combat ability.

During the Second World War, Gong Chengxiang served as a martial arts instructor for Chinese resistance forces and trained soldiers in close-combat methods. He participated in guerrilla warfare and became associated with the famous Great Broadsword Troops (Dadao dui 大刀隊), where traditional weapons and fighting skills were used alongside modern military tactics. His experience on the battlefield reinforced his belief that martial arts should remain practical and functional rather than merely decorative.

After the war, Gong settled in Hangzhou in 1947 and continued teaching traditional martial arts. He established the Hangzhou Long Boxing Society (Hangzhou changquan 杭州長拳社), later renamed by his students the Gong Style Shaolin Tongbiquan Association (Gongshi Shaolin Tongbiquan Hui 鞏式少林通臂拳會), which transmitted his unique combination of Tongbiquan, Shaolin Fohaiquan, and Shaolin Zhou Tong Quantui to a small number of dedicated disciples. His teachings included the Fast Hands of Tongbiquan (Tongbi kuai shou 通臂快手), the Thirteen Breaking-Off Hands (shísān jì jué shou 十三記絕手), the Eighteen Buddha-Sea Palms (Fohai Shiba shou 佛海十八掌), Zhou Tong Legs (Zou Tong Tui 周同腿), and the eighteen traditional weapons. The style was arranged by Lucas Christopoulos of about 54 techniques from the three systems above (Shaolin Zhou Tong legs, Shaolin Fohan quan, Cangzhou 24 Tongbiquan) and ten basic forms, and it is also called "The Jumping Snake or jumping Viper Style." (Caoshangfei quan 草上飛拳)

“The legs are like two hands, the hands like meteors, the waist like a snake, the feet like drills. Courageous like a Tiger in fighting, moving as fast as a mouse, and the Heart calm as a young girl while taking off suddenly as a Hare (or a viper). You come straight, I hit you on the side, you come on the side, I go straight on you. No stands, no postures, just hitting you. You kick, I kick, pointing East, I hit West, pointing up, I hit down, mixing fakes and real strikes, as every movement is a beating one.”

腿如两只手、手如流星、腰如蛇形、脚如鑽形、胆如虎、行 為 鼠、静如處女、動如脱兔 (蝮)。直来横打，横来直打，不招不架，只打一下。你踢我踢，你打我打，指東打西，指上打下，真假虛實見式打式。

Lineage 

1. Xu Xiuwen (徐修文), Abbot of Henan Shaolin Temple’s Nanyuan Hall. Teaching Shaolin Buddha Guards boxing (少林佛漢拳) and commando training to the warrior monks.

2. Jia Yunlu (賈雲露) studied in 1860 at the Shaolin Temple under Xu Xiuwen, receiving the monk’s name Guang Ming (光明), and then taught the Qing dynasty army in Hebei province.

3. Gong Meilin (鞏梅林), from Hebei province, Cangzhou area, became a Wuju (武舉人), an officer of the Qing army, together Dong Jiezi (董介子), his step-brother.

4. Gong Chengxiang (鞏成祥 1892-1980), from Longyao village near Cangzhou, became a bodyguard and officer in charge of commando army training in Lushan for the Guomingdang in the 30s. He had practiced Tongbiquan at the Nanjing Guoshuguan and later taught in Hangzhou, mainly from 1950. (He got his Tongbiquan influx from Liu Zhensheng and his martial arts brother Cao Yanhai, by changing the old postures to the unicorn step Qilinbu 麒麟步, and also added the Legs of Zhou Tong)

5. Yu Baohua (余寶華) from Hangzhou, learned in the 60s from Gong Chengxiang

6. Lucas Christopoulos (Yun Luxia 雲露俠) learned in the 90s in Hangzhou