How many forms in the style?

[Jingwu Man]

Me and my Sigong are going to shaolin soon and I want to learn more sets from the various styles. Does anybody know how many sets each stle contains? I know I will never be able to learn them all, but I want an idea of what there is. Any help would be much appreciated.

Xiaohongquan--I heard that there might be a second road?
tongbiquan---I know big and little tongbi, anything else?
Dahongquan-- Is there really 3?
Taizuchangquan---I also heard that there might be a second for this too.
Liuhequan--- any others?
Changhuxinyimen--One of my favorite forms, is there a second road?
Qixingquan--great form, any more?
Luohanquan--I know big and little luohan, but I've seen an Erlu luohan out there too.
Meihuaquan--I know the xiaomeihua, but how many more?
Paoquan--I know the big and little, but I have seen a HUGE paoquan form.

A lot to ask, but I'd appreciate any feedback.
Thanks.

[PangQuan]

i cant be of too much help as of those sets i know only xiaohongquan and dahongquan.

of the xiao i have seen several variations so i would not doubt what you have heard.

of the dahongquan i know 2 different versions, both are similar, yet have some distinct differences. I have dabbled in combining them, but hold of to see if i can get a more complete/correct version from my teacher later.

[Jingwu Man]

Wah! Several variations of Xiaohong? Oh man!
So much to learn!
Are the two versions of Dahong you know very different, or are they kind of like different teachers ways of doing it?
Thanks for sharing!

[qixingmantis]

greetings all

well let me add my two cents worth...xiao hong as i know is made up of three runs...i think the only variations ive found have been from instructor to instructor and thats in the interpretation of a technique taken out of a sequence...in xiao hong there are so many subtle differences none of them wrong...

da hong has three sections the first section being the most universal....not many know all three sections....if youve attented the school at tagou then youll learn all three sections

tong bei or arm through back fist is a complete system...the two sets universally taught at shaolin temple are just the tip of the ice berg....this is the same for the hong family boxing of which xiao (small) and da (big) red fist come from....most of the forms taught to us westerners are two or three sets taken from a system .......chang (long) boxing is a huge system on which contempory wushu is based. cannon boxing (pao) is yet another system.......i play the qi xing tang lang system ...so ive thought it fundamentally important to learn one or two of each of the sets that make up the seven star mantis system...of which eighteen system where used...to truely understand the thoughts behind the fist play

so its great to learn a shaolin set....but id say find one that you really enjoy and then follow that system ....each of these sets are far deeper and really need a good understanding of origin influence and execution....to really make them of value....otherwise they are empty shells......xiao hong i learned but only made sense when explained by 34th wuseng yanzi shifu .......now i can make sense of da hong.......yanzi shi fu is also an expert at the six harmony and arhat fist sets....so if you need good tuition then you should find a real traditionalist to show you what goes on behind the fascade of flying hands and feet....so many hidden secrets within a shaolin form...youll be in awe and find that you dont need 40 thousand sets ...but just be expert at 3 or four....then i think youve found shaolin

remember dont practice shao lin fist.....live it

namo ami to fou

[Jingwu Man]

qixingmantis.

You're so right about mastering just a few forms. I've been down the path of form collector before, and it just leads to dissatisfaction. I knew so many forms, but didn't know all the applications, and didn't even have time to practice them all.

Of the Shaolin systems, I'm partial to Tongbi, Hongquan, Paoquan, and my two favorite forms are Qixingquan and Changhuxinyimen. Of course, they're all cool.

Changhuxinyimen (long protect heart will gate) isn't a longfist style it's actually a set from the xinyiba style of shaolin, the "master" style, supposedly. This one is the "long" form.

You're also right about the hidden or high level techniques within the forms. My sigong has shown me the applications to the shaolin forms , and they are by far the most applicable, and most adaptable techniques I've seen so far. Not to mention the nastiest.

Thanks for the reply!