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Mission Statement

What is Chinese Boxing

History and Lineage of Sifu Kaisai

History of CBII

Mission Statement

The purpose of Chinese Boxing Institute International is to research, educate and analyse
realistic martial arts and in particular the arts that use and study various energy
elements.The study of energy and principles constitute the focus of the study. Chinese Boxing
wishes to not be influenced unduly by style and personality, but to study the topic and base
conclusions on high percentage methods. As in life, the world view or big picture has an
absolute effect on the methods and effiency of the progress and aerodyte progression.

What is Chinese Boxing

What exactly is Chinese boxing? As we shall see, this question is not as easily answered as
one might suppose. The actual name in Chinese is “Chung-Kuo chuan”, which literally
translates as “Chinese fist". However, “fist” is typically translated as “boxing,” meaning
hand-to-hand combat.

In some ways, this translation is misleading and unfortunate, since in the United States
today, “boxing” is a specific sport. Chinese boxing is not a sport, but a means of survival in
no-holds-barred, life-or-death situations. Western boxing uses only the hands, which the
boxer is required to sheathe in gloves. Chinese boxing has no constraints. It uses the entire
body as a weapon. It was never designed as a game, and so knows no rules.

A martial artist who has trained in Chinese boxing might participate in a sport karate or
kickboxing tournament, but he would not employ true, unadulterated Chinese boxing in the
ring. To do so would be unethical, for his life would not be on the line—the stakes in a
tournament are merely pride and money.


“Chung-Kuo chuan,” then, might be more accurately translated as “Chinese lethal combat
method.” However, as we at the CBII use the term, Chung-Kuo chuan is not just any Chinese
lethal combat method—it is a very specific method. There are countless styles of Chinese
martial art intended for use in lethal combat. Only a few of these subscribe to the particular
school of thought that typifies Chinese boxing. Thus, Chinese boxing refers to a Chinese
method of lethal combat governed by a particular philosophy and set of principles. To know
what Chinese boxing is, one must know the underlying theory.

The cornerstone of Chinese
boxing is the study of energy. Chung-Kuo chuan is the science of energy use and control. It
seeks to generate power and to control oncoming force without depending on physical size
or strength. The key to this goal is the mastery of one’s own energy and the manipulation of
the adversary’s. For this reason, Chinese boxing is also known as “energy boxing".

As a result of this emphasis, the central skills of Chinese boxing do not deteriorate with age.
While muscular strength and speed inevitably deteriorate, internal energy may be cultivated
indefinitely. Thus, the energy boxer may continue to grow in combative efficacy as he grows
older. Many of the masters of Chinese boxing, in fact, are in their 60’s or 70’s. Despite their
age, they are feared fighters. This is in stark contrast to most athletic activities, in which
yesterday’s champions are today’s has-beens.


Although the study of energy is the crux of Chinese boxing, one must not jump to the
conclusion that any Chinese martial art that “studies energy” constitutes Chinese boxing. Just
as countless Chinese styles are intended for use in lethal combat, countless styles believe that
energy plays some role in combat. They may differ, however, in their view of what that role
should be. Chinese boxing represents a particular school of thought as to how energy is best
harnessed and manipulated combatively. Thus, we return to the proposition that to know
what Chinese boxing is, one must know its theory.

My teacher, the late Christopher G. Casey (also known as Sifu Kai Sai), believed that all of

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Chinese boxing rests on the foundation of ten fundamental principles, just as the vast edifice
of classical geometry rested on ten principles.

Mr. Casey’s great contribution was to distill these ten principles from his studies with
numerous Chinese boxing grandmasters. While pursuing a diverse assortment of boxing arts,
he came to realize that they shared a “common denominator.” With his gifts of insight and
analysis, he was able to abstract their common essence in the form of ten core principles.
Casey was thus like Euclid, the ancient Greek mathematician who discovered that all the
geometry known in his day rested on five axioms and five postulates.

Although we owe our highly formalized understanding of the principles to Mr. Casey, he did
not discover them on the practical level; they were discovered centuries ago and were handed
down from generation to generation, always to a privileged few. But Casey, could be
recognized as one of the first Westerners to develop a concise theory that clearly laid out the
principles on an intellectual level. He presented an incisive analysis of something that had
previously been understood by many only intuitively. (It is worth noting that although his
profession was international reinsurance, his college degree was in philosophy.)

There is an intriguing parallel in the world of popular music. In the 1960’s, the Beatles burst
on the music scene. They had no formal education, no knowledge of music theory. They
couldn’t even read musical notation. Yet, as musical giants such as Leonard Bernstein and
Arthur Fiedler were quick to point out, the Beatles were producing works of brilliance on a
par with Gershwin. Bernstein, with his extensive background in music theory, presented
lectures on what exactly John Lennon and Paul McCartney were doing that made their music
so outstanding.

Casey was a Leonard Bernstein studying under intuitive geniuses like John Lennon and Paul
McCartney. Of course, he was not just a bookworm who attained knowledge of the arts “on
paper” only, any more than Bernstein (who authored the score of “West Side Story”) was a
mere musical academic. As a practical result of his insights, Casey was able to synthesize
knowledge from a wide variety of sources. He studied with an unprecedented number
ofChinese boxing grandmasters and mastered a diverse assortment of boxing styles. He
became a genuine energy master. (For details, see the section below on “History and Lineage
of Sifu Kai Sai.”)

Each of us can follow in Mr. Casey’s footsteps toward energy mastery if we, like him, devote
scrupulous study to the principles of Chinese boxing. These principles will be discussed at
length in part two of this book, but we should introduce them at least briefly here. They are:

1. Rooting: Sinking and relaxing the body mass to increase stability.
2. Yielding: Never
opposing force.
3. Sticking: Using forward pressure to close the gap between you and your
opponent and to control your opponent once contact is made. Sticking expedites the climax of
the encounter.
4. Centeredness: The mastering of your own complete balance and the
conquering of your opponent’s balance.
5. Six-Nine Theory: The theory of change, inspired by
the I Ching. A boxer guided by six-nine theory retains the ability to change energy and tactics
at any moment in combat. He never overextends and never commits himself to an
allornothing gambit. Six-nine theory also entails a philosophy favoring techniques with a high
percentage of payoff.
6. Unitary Theory: The development of maximum power and speed, not
by reliance on the muscles, but by training every part of the body to work in unison, and by
learning to draw fully on the body’s internal resources.
7. Projection: Turning energy within
the body (“chi”) into force directed at a point outside the body.
8. Line and Angle: The study
of the angles of the body and the lines of attack to promote efficiency in defense and
economy in the projection of energy. With an appreciation of line and angle, you can fend off
attacks with subtle movements, sometimes of less than an inch. You eliminate wasted
motions that delay seizing the offensive and create openings for further attacks. You avoid
clashing with your opponent head on, but instead maneuver to his weak angle, where you
need less power to vanquish him.
9. Body State: A special development of the muscles that
allows energy to circulate freely and project powerfully. This entails a pervasiveness of
energy throughout the entire body, rather than the segmenting of energy into isolated parts
of the body.
10. Mind-Hit: The mastery of the mental dimensions of combat. This is a broad
category that includes methods of disrupting an opponent’s mental focus.

These ten principles blend together, as if in a magic formula, to produce a peerless mastery of
energy. We thus refer to them as “the principles of energy mastery. Chinese boxing is not a
particular style of martial art, but a category of martial art. Any Chinese style governed by the
principles of energy mastery falls into the category of Chinese boxing.

A martial art, of course,
need not be Chinese to accord with the principles of energy mastery. “Energy boxing” can

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refer to any martial style, of whatever origin, that adheres to the principles. Chinese boxing is
thus a subset of energy boxing.

The question of which martial art styles constitute energy boxing is a murky one. A particular
style may be presented in accordance with the principles by one instructor, while another
instructor’s presentation may not accord with the principles. Only in the first case would the
style constitute energy boxing. In theory, any style can be presented in accordance with the
principles, but some styles are better formulated to adhere to the principles than are others.

At one end of the spectrum, we have styles that are ideally formulated, such as three of the
classical internal Chinese martial arts, Tai Chi Chuan, Pa-Kua Chang, and Hsing-I Chuan.
Unfortunately, some practitioners of these arts are not well schooled in the principles. This is
especially true of persons
who practice Tai Chi Chuan as a health exercise rather than as a
combative science. Such persons may know how to generate energy within themselves, but
are lost when it comes to applying that energy in combat or controlling the energy of an
attacker.

Even those who study Tai Chi (or Pa-Kua or Hsing-I) in a martial context may be quite limited
in their grasp of the principles. They may present the style as a fighting art, but a fighting art
far below its full potential. On the basis of my experience, I would say that a slim minority is
actually doing, or even striving toward, energy boxing.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are styles with numerous built-in obstacles to the
principles of energy mastery, styles that encourage bad habits. Hard styles generally fall into
this category. You can learn mastery of the principles while studying one of these styles, but
you are learning in a hostile
environment. It would be like trying to learn to swim in
quicksand. If you were to succeed and then present an energy boxing interpretation of your
style, it would appear very different from the usual presentation of that style. It would be as
though the style had undergone radical surgery.

Back to top

History and Lineage of Sifu Kai Sai


Mr. Casey’s work in international reinsurance allowed him to spend many months each year in
Taiwan (the Republic of China). He was an accomplished martial artist before he began his
travels to Taiwan, holding fourth-degree black belts in jujitsu, kempo, and Shorin-Ryu karate
under the American Jujitsu Institute, the U.S. Karate Association, and the Okinawan Karate
Association, respectively. But it was in Taiwan that he became an energy boxer.

The arts of Chinese boxing are generally hidden behind a veil of secrecy. Penetrating this veil
is difficult even for native Taiwanese. “Foreign devils” such as Americans face even greater
reticence. Taking lessons from an expert is one thing, but receiving instruction beyond the
superficial level is something else entirely. Mr. Casey somehow pierced the veil and was
accepted into the innermost circles of Chinese boxing.

How did he accomplish such a feat? He had wealth and political connections. He had a keen
intellect and enormous talent. But most importantly, he impressed the masters with his
passion for learning and his fierce dedication to the arts. Mr. Casey’s first teacher in Taiwan
was Wang Shu-chin, one of the greatest legends in the art of Pa-Kua Chang. Wang taught
Casey Hsing-I Chuan inaddition to Pa-Kua, but focused on the latter. Casey studied with
Wang until the master’s death, but eventually branched out to learn other arts from other
teachers.

Casey’s primary Tai Chi teacher was Master Tao Ping-siang, although he also studied
Tai Chi under several other instructors. Tao was for more than 30 years a student of the
famed Cheng Man-ching, founder of the Yang short form. Master Shen Muo-hui became
Casey’s primary Hsing-I teacher and secondary Pa-Kua and Tai Chi teacher. Shen, a fellow
eclectic, also taught Casey Black Shantung Tiger, Lohan, Grand Chaining, Shuai Chaio, and
Ching Bao Gong Ka.

The Pa-Kua short form found in our Chinese Boxing Synthesis curriculum comes from Master
Wang. Wang’s long Pa-Kua form, known as the Celestial Circling Dragon, is taught in our Pa-
Kua Chang curriculum. Shen’s PaKua is offered as supplementary training for advanced
students of that curriculum.

The Tai Chi short form found in our integrated curriculum is
basically Cheng Man-ching’s short form with a few modifications introduced by Mr. Casey. In
particular, Casey incorporated certain speed and power characteristics of Chen style Tai Chi.
We thus refer to the form as the Kai Sai (or Casey) Chen-Yang Synthesis Tai Chi short form.
This form is also the focal point of our Tai Chi Chuan curriculum, although advanced Tai Chi

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students are taught the long Yang form (which Casey learned from Master Shen).

Mr. Casey learned Wing Chun from Master Lo Man Kam. Lo is the nephew of the famed Yip
Man, with whom he lived and studied while growing up on mainland China prior to the
communist revolution.
Master Lo is the only teacher I know of who presents Wing Chun as
energy boxing. In fact, Lo calls his art “Yim Wing Chun” to accent its softness and distinguish
it from the much more common hard style. The soft style of Wing Chun was taught by Yip Man
to Lo and other disciples in China’s
Kwangtung province. Following the revolution, Yip
immigrated to Hong Kong. He taught hard style Wing Chun on a commercial basis to at least
the majority of his students there.

Mr. Casey studied the Stone Killer Monkey boxing style under its founder,
China’s legendary
“monkey king,” the great Liao Wu-chang. Masters S.Y. Chen and P.C. Hsieh taught Casey
Fukien White Crane. In the course of his studies under all these teachers, Casey acquired a
comprehensive knowledge of chin na, the science of seizing and holding an adversary. Chin na
is not a style of boxing, but is embedded in most major styles. This truly became one of his
specialties. In fact, Mr. Casey formulated an entire curriculum exclusively for chin na,
although chin na is also taught within each of our other curriculums.

Of course, as discussed in part one of this book, Mr. Casey did much more than master an
assortment of individual arts. With his gifts of insight and analysis, he formulated a
comprehensive theory that clearly defined the basic pillars of Chinese boxing. In recognition
of his achievements, Taiwan’s boxing masters gave Mr. Casey the name Kai Sai, which means
“victorious in every encounter.”

Kai Sai was the only Caucasian to be granted full membership in the Hong Mein Huey Society,
the secret historical society heavily responsible for the preservation of Chinese boxing into
the 20th century. Additionally, Kai Sai served for over ten years as the United States chief
liaison officer of the Kuoshu Federation of the Republic of China, the branch of Taiwanese
government responsible for the promotion of the Chinese martial arts. He was given free rein
to promote the Chinese martial arts in the U.S. in any way he saw fit. (During the last three of
these years, his responsibilities were extended to Europe.)

As head of the U.S. Kuoshu Mission, Mr. Casey marketed films of many of Taiwan’s masters
demonstrating their arts. Eventually, the Kuoshu Mission began offering correspondence
courses in the general Shaolin arts. Camps were later orchestrated to bring together those
who seriously aspired to learn the Chinese martial arts.

Later in his career, Kai Sai mastered the obscure style of Wa Lu. A private family art, Wa Lu is
completely unknown to the world at large. Kai Sai told us he learned it from a man in Macao
named Pa Ka, and that is all we know about the style's background except that it has a close
complementation to shuai chaio (Chinese wrestling). We feel Wa Lu should be judged on its
own merits, not dismissed for apparent lack of lineage.

In the United States, Kai Sai studied Jun Fan Gung Fu, the eclectic fighting system devised by
Bruce Lee. (Jun Fan is commonly referred to as Jeet Kune Do. However, this term actually
denotes a set of principles manifested in the system, rather than the system itself.) He was
the senior student of Taky Kimura, who was in turn the senior student of Bruce Lee. In 1981,
Mr. Casey authored the book In Pursuit Of Jeet Kune Do: A Source Book On Jan Fan Gung Fu.
This book was presented to the Kuoshu Federation on behalf of the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute
on the occasion of the induction of Jun Fan Gung Fu into the Kuoshu Federation’s pantheon of
Chinese martial arts.

Mr. Casey also authored two other books, which were published on a
limited basis—Kuoshu: Chinese Ultimate Mind And Body Discipline, and Mind-Hit Boxing:
Secrets Of Kai Sai Kung Fu.

Tragically, Mr. Casey passed away in 1986. He was surely one of the greatest martial artists,
and he has left us a rich legacy.


History of the Chinese Boxing Institute International

The Chinese Boxing Institute International (CBII) was founded by Sifu Kai Sai in 1982,
shortly before he moved back to the United States from Germany. He felt that Chinese boxing
was so different from the vast bulk of Chinese martial art that it deserved special recognition.
He believed it would receive this recognition only if it had its own organization to promote it.

In order to devote his full attention to launching the CBII, Kai Sai broke with the Kuoshu
Federation, which promotes Chinese martial art in general.

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Sifu Kai Sai assigned me the position of chief instructor for the United States, while naming
his other student, Manfred Steiner of Hanover, West Germany, as chief instructor for Europe.
Master Lo Man Kam accepted therole of chief instructor for Asia.

For the board of directors, Kai Sai recruited two of his other Taiwan-based teachers, Master
Tao Ping-siang and Master Shen Muo-hui, and one of his fellow American martial artists,
Professor Wally Jay. Professor Jay is thefounder of the small circle theory of jujitsu, which
bears close resemblance to Chinese boxing chin na.

Sifu Kai Sai assumed the role of international chairman of the CBII. He designated me as the
institute’s director and international president.

The CBII is dedicated to fostering the Chinese
boxing arts. It seeks to further develop the science of energy boxing and to cultivate a
widespread appreciation of the boxing arts. The institute rejects the tradition of secrecy
enshrouding Chinese boxing. It sees these arts as a vital part of the cultural heritage of all
mankind similar to the music of Beethoven Backorto the
Top philosophy
of Page of Aristotle.

Our CBII group is
small but is open to those who first have the attitude of learning in the study of truth in
martial arts.
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