How diverse was the Golden Wheel Monk's martial arts skill set?

[Ken Cheng]

How diverse was the Golden Wheel Monk's martial arts skill set? On the one hand, he himself used a technique that used five metallic wheels, but this skill was not evident in his two disciples, Fok Do and Dat Yee Ba. Fok Do used a fan technique that he learned from the Golden Wheel Monk, but the monk himself never used such a skill in combat. Dat Yee Ba specialized in a wooden club technique, but again, though DYB learned this skill from the GWM, the monk himself was never seen using this skill.

It also makes me wonder if Au Yeung Hak learned his fan combat technique from his uncle/father West Poison Au Yeung Fung, or if he learned it elsewhere or devised it himself. Au Yeung Fung never used a fan for fighting, so how would his nephew/son become a specialist with that weapon?

[Trien Chieu]

First of all, there were only 2 wheels, not 5. If I remember correctly, GWM used a wooden stick at the end of ROCH.

[Mandred Skavenslayer]

Diversity was not a particularly prominent aspect of GWM's martial arts. He seems to have been power/strength orientated which might account for why his students had such diverse weapons, ie GWM taught them how to cultivate strength but left them to decide how best to apply that strength.

[Snafu3721]

This question can probably be applied to some other Master / Disciple relationships

1-Deng didn't demonstrate any of the skills that his disciples use (like using a caligraphy brush)
HYS's students also have really interesting skill sets that we never see HYS use (like a scissor)



Perhaps GWM, like many masters, focused on teaching their students martial theory and intenal techniques. Or they coach their students to utilize various weapons but using the same foundation.

Or it could be that the students had previously trained under different masters-- which is actually very common in real martial arts. My own Kung Fu Sifu had learned Tai chi from one master, but Bagua from another master, and his praying mantis fist from yet another master.

[Ken Cheng]

This question can probably be applied to some other Master / Disciple relationships

1-Deng didn't demonstrate any of the skills that his disciples use (like using a caligraphy brush)
HYS's students also have really interesting skill sets that we never see HYS use (like a scissor)



Perhaps GWM, like many masters, focused on teaching their students martial theory and intenal techniques. Or they coach their students to utilize various weapons but using the same foundation.

Or it could be that the students had previously trained under different masters-- which is actually very common in real martial arts. My own Kung Fu Sifu had learned Tai chi from one master, but Bagua from another master, and his praying mantis fist from yet another master.

You're right. I overlooked the fact that the students of the other Greats often used personal techniques and weapons that their teachers never used. It's odd, but Mui Chiu Fung, Chan Yeun Fung, Luk Sing Fung, Kuk Ling Fung, and Fung Mak Fung were never seen using "traditional" Peach Blossom Island techniques such as Divine Finger Snap or flutes as weapons.

[hyoyatika]

Diversity was not a particularly prominent aspect of GWM's martial arts. He seems to have been power/strength orientated which might account for why his students had such diverse weapons, ie GWM taught them how to cultivate strength but left them to decide how best to apply that strength.

Sounds fair and logical.

[hyoyatika]

This question can probably be applied to some other Master / Disciple relationships

1-Deng didn't demonstrate any of the skills that his disciples use (like using a caligraphy brush)
HYS's students also have really interesting skill sets that we never see HYS use (like a scissor)

For YD's disciples, I believe they were already skilled before they trained under YD. After all, they served as ministers to YD during his reign and likely were skilled as well. The brush skill was probably something he already knew.

As for the scissors, that was never Feng Mofeng's weapon of choice. He simply chose it because it was a very relevant weapon to use against LMC. Once again, it just shows the genius of HYS.

[pannonian]

How diverse was the Golden Wheel Monk's martial arts skill set? On the one hand, he himself used a technique that used five metallic wheels, but this skill was not evident in his two disciples, Fok Do and Dat Yee Ba. Fok Do used a fan technique that he learned from the Golden Wheel Monk, but the monk himself never used such a skill in combat. Dat Yee Ba specialized in a wooden club technique, but again, though DYB learned this skill from the GWM, the monk himself was never seen using this skill.

It also makes me wonder if Au Yeung Hak learned his fan combat technique from his uncle/father West Poison Au Yeung Fung, or if he learned it elsewhere or devised it himself. Au Yeung Fung never used a fan for fighting, so how would his nephew/son become a specialist with that weapon?

A variant of Da Erba's staff technique, used against Huo Du at the Beggar's Clan meet, was based on GWM's 5 wheel technique.

[Ken Cheng]

A variant of Da Erba's staff technique, used against Huo Du at the Beggar's Clan meet, was based on GWM's 5 wheel technique.

I'm trying to reconcile that in my head, but a heavy club and flying, razor-edged wheels seem like very different weapons and it's hard to imagine a technique that works well for both.

[pannonian]

I'm trying to reconcile that in my head, but a heavy club and flying, razor-edged wheels seem like very different weapons and it's hard to imagine a technique that works well for both.

It's even worse in the text. Whereas GWM's wheels whizz around with great agility, Da Erba's staff spins around with great force but Da Erba dashes around to manually redirect it every time Huo Du dodges it. Did I mention that Da Erba is actually a skinny monk?

[hyoyatika]

It's even worse in the text. Whereas GWM's wheels whizz around with great agility, Da Erba's staff spins around with great force but Da Erba dashes around to manually redirect it every time Huo Du dodges it. Did I mention that Da Erba is actually a skinny monk?

What? Every TV adaptation has him as a burly/fat monk.