Mizong Luohan 迷蹤羅漢

Mizong Luohan is an external style, with distinct internal influences. It draws on many aspects of the external Northern Shaolin Long Fist style, and the internal styles T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Pa Kua Chang and Hsing I Ch'uan, with which it is often taught in modern times. It is characterized by deceptive hand movements, intricate footwork, varied kicks, and high leaps. In execution, the style changes very quickly. The emphasis on flexibility in Northern Shaolin styles is a guiding principle of Mizong, and this is evident in the versatility of its attacks and the extent to which it integrates the concepts of many internal styles. An increased emphasis on mobility often comes at the price of power, but Mizong compensates for this by providing a means for the dynamic generation of power. Mizong's unique fa jing (discharging of force) comes from the combination of the internal corkscrew power seen in Chen style Tai Chi Chuan and the external snapping power of Shaolin Long Fist. The result is the efficient generation of force through the dynamic motion of multiple elements of the body, the mastery of which gives a Mizong practitioner the capability of generating force quickly and flexibly from any distance. This system was presided over by Grandmaster Yeh Yi Teng in the twentieth century until his death in 1962 at the age of 70. Two of his students, Master W.L. Shien and Master T.Y. Liu, taught Master Alex Kwok who emigrated to the United States in the 1960s and has continued to teach this system in locations around the U.S. and Canada.

A portrait of Grandmaster Yeh Yi Teng is on display in every Mizong Luohan training hall. It is flanked by a couplet in Chinese which translates to:

The nine provinces are simmering; Tigers and monsters are waiting to be conquered by Luo Han.May there be no diversions from the main course; To spread the art and defend the course are the duties of the Mizong Masters

Poem of the Mizong Luohan style

Mizong Luohan combines the hard and the soft;
Dodging, springing, and shifting like a leopard changes its moves;
Jumping and changes of steps are elusive;
Spectacular leaps back and forth simulate the tiger.
Mud-tilling steps are just too swift for the opponent The left foot has hardly landed and the right follows;
The right foot has yet to step down but the left sets in.
Internal power is generated by dropping the shoulders and elbows.
Hands going up like lifting a caldron or a sparrow piercing through the bushes.
Hands coming down like splitting a brick or a swallow gliding over the water.
Embrace, get in, reverse, glue, roll, snap, and lift.
Stick-pull, grab, up-push, intercept, hammer, deflect and squeeze.
Movements of the hands, eyes, body and the steps are well coordinated in all strategies.
The spirit, the poise and the grace flow like waves of the sea.