Pai lum
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Pai Lum (Bai Long, White Dragon) Kung fu is a martial arts style that was established by Daniel Kane Pai.
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[edit] Pai Lum History
According to his training manual, Daniel Kane Pai was born in a poor family in Hawaii and brought up by his grandfather, Pai Po Fong. The Pai family, being Chinese, was mistreated by the locals and held very little respect. At the age of twelve, Pai Po Fong sent his grandson to the "White Lotus Temple" in northern Okinawa to study "kenpo" with some relatives. After five years of intense training, Daniel returned to Hawaii and became the prominent fighter of the islands, winning trophies and respect for his family name. Filled with pride for his grandson, Pai Po Fong taught Daniel the Pai Family style, Pai Lum. Determined to share his new-found knowledge, Pai traveled to the mainland and established the White Dragon Association in New England. The training manual does not go into much detail as to how or why he established the association, but goes on to several teaching traits he exhibited.
[edit] Curriculum
The first student in Pai Lum Kung Fu was NOT recorded by Dan Pai but he was very fond of Kalaii Griffin as he told his devoted student in Fl. According to Master Griffin, he stated that Master Thomas D. St Charles was a student of Dr Pai's in 1967. Who met him first...the many followers of Dan Pai hardly know each other as evidenced by these varied accounts of his life. According to St. Charles Master Griffin did not meet Dr.Pai until 1970 in Bridgeport Ct and then Master St.Charles gave Griffen his first Karate/Kung fu lesson. At that time the curriculum within Pai Lum was Goju Ryu Karate and also the roots of Pai Lum KEMPO. Master Pai had Goju Ryu Rank but he already wanted to move away from the crowd.
He began teaching people such as Thomas D. St. Charles in 1967, then in 1970 when he was brought to Bridgeport Ct and given a School there to encourage him, he began teaching Peter Genero, Charlie Hatchett...names lost in past. In 1971 Master Pai relocated to Hartford Ct. and 1972 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 ...Robert Schoolnick, David Everett, Anthony Galiano, Thomas L. Turcotte, Lauren Porter (ex-wife of USKA champion Don Collyer) Jeffrey Guifffre, David L. Smith, Phil Hunter, Chow Lum, Clarence Cooper, Karen Tolczak, John Guerrera 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 and White Eyebrow from Lee Chun Pai in Ontario, Canada, 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 Fl even today. Based in Cocoa Beach under Fred Schmitz and his one time students, friends and later rivals the Wilson brothers, most notably Don Wilson, who was being fought over as having the 'right " stuff, oriental good looks and a real physical talent. Struggling with high rent and not enough paying students, Hartford school moved several times until in June of 1976 Dr. Pai moved to Daytona Beach, Fl where he spent the rest of his life (or up the road in Orlando). It is amusing to this author that tales of the missing...having seen, fed, carried and served the teacher daily since early 1977 I wonder 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, Florida, and Missouri. David Everett was Pai Lum chief instructor at this time, later maintaining the Pai Lum presence in the Hartford area at his White Lotus Martial Arts Center, even after he left Pai's organization in July 1980.
Daniel Pai personally taught his students several curriculums 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 practising.
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.
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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Philosophy
One of the central points of Pai Lum as taught by the World White Dragon society is brotherhood.[1] They teach that all members of the society are equal, and should be treated as such. In addition there is a very taoist lean in their philosophy, even using the yin and yang as part of their symbol.[2]Pai Lum stresses wisdom, courage, honor, strength, purity, and knowledge.
[edit] Controversy
The controversy named below is amusing to the family menbers...the truth is a family secret and whatever is written is only a version of the history of the family system.
The historical legend as told above 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.
Daniel Pai died in 1993. For many years he had told many students of Pai Lum that his successor would be his senior adopted grandson, Pai Li Lung (John Weninger). Other adopted grandsons who were more senior to Pai Li Lung had left Pai Lum over the years preceding his death. 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 chief instructor, Pai Tao Chi (David Everett), two publicly competing factions exist within Pai Lum, namely the World White Dragon Society and the White Dragon Warrior Society. Most of the existing schools align themselves with the World White Dragon society or they don't align themselves with anyone.
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 Shin Zan (Thomas D. St. Charles), Pai Ching-Lin (David L.Smith), 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.
The other competing faction is The White Dragon Warrior Society, which is headed by Glenn C. Wilson supported by his wife Hilda Guerrero Wilson, and students. Not the same Wilsons as Don Wilson but a student of John Tsao of Chicago, Glenn knew Pai from the Karate circuit where he was a form competitor. Often winning, Glenn favored the stud-bracelet, full-chinese dress approach to kung fu competition that was still rare in the late 70's. He was from another system but well-regarded. In 1989 he ran into Pai In Orlando and formed a new organization with him. Somehow he got the idea that the other 30 years worth of followers were going to get behind him but there has never been a good reason to do so as Glenn's version of Pai Lum is too mixed-up with other teacher's training.
Considering that it appears to outsiders there is no set curriculum, central authority, or standard within Pai Lum, there seems little point to have named anyone the head of the system according to some...but in truth a head was named and he laughs as everyone plays "it must be me because it can't be him." In the tradition of his teacher, the head of Pai Lum seeks only his own path.
