Forms?

[norther practitioner]

What are the names of the forms that you learn in your shaolin school, and in what order do you learn them?

[NorthernShaolin]

At what level of expertise are you asking? Beginning level or advance?
Are you asking hand sets or weapons included?
Are you asking for the first year, three years or up to ten years and beyond?
Do you just want to know about shaolin sets or it's related branches because many current schools tend to mix shaolin styles together?
Can you clarify your question?

[Shaolin]

The names don't matter and I learn them from beggining to end.:D

[norther practitioner]

Well what I am looking for is what forms (empty hand and weapon) people teach at other schools. As far as the names, yes they do matter, or we would not be able to convey information orally. The question I guess should be, what forms does your school typically teach to beginners, itermediates, advanced practioners, etc.

[kungfudork]

in the first 12-18 months here is how our curriculum is broken down: 18 basic moves, wubu chuan, lian huan chuan, xiao hong chuan(short form), tong be chuan, dan dao, chao yang chuan, mei hua chuan, and yin shou gun. 12-18 months is assuming how quickly the individual learns and understands. could take longer, but not less than 12 months.

-dieter

[xiong]

We spent a fair amount of time on the basics then started on Set #6 Duan Da (Short Strike). Next we learned Set #4 Chuan Xin? (Pierce the Heart).

That is what I learned and have since forgotten. What came next is a little fuzzy for me as I broke my leg and missed training towards the end of my time there. I think broadsword was the next thing but I didn't know enough about it at the time to tell you if it was standard, Mei Hua or Liu He.

Perhaps it was pointless of me to reply because it was so long ago and I did not get very far, but you asked and thats what I have to offer.

[NorthernShaolin]

To my best memory...I may have left some sets out.

Our school actually combines two curriculums together: Jing Mo (Ching Wu) from Sun Yu Fung and KMT from Kuo Yu Chang.

Beginners
The first two years is the 10 standard Ching Wu sets which includes 12 row Tan Tui and Kung Li Chuan and Pa Kua Saber, Ta Mor Sword, Five Tiger Spear and saber vs. spear

Then 3rd & 4th year we move to Lien Bo, Sil Wah (Small Circular Fist), Shao In #6 (Short Strikes), Pa Kua Saber (Sun Yu Fung version) or Pa Chi Saber, Fire Water Staff, Shao Lin # 7 (Plum Blossom), Shao Lin #5 (Martial Moves)

Intermediate
5th to 6th year: Shao lin #8 (Leaps), Ground Demon Staff, Double Sabers vs. Spear, Lui Ho Chuan, Raise Blocking Spear, Lo Han Sparring, Dragon Shape Sword, Cha #4 (Fork Step), Shao lin # 4 (chest attacks)

Advance
7th thru 9th: Shaolin #1 (open door), Plum Blossom Double Dragon Swords, Shaolin #2 (Lead the Way), Loose Wrist Saber Sparring, Tiger Hooks, Long Bench, Shaolin #3 (Horse Riding), Plum Blossom Ti Tung Chain, Shaolin #9 (Links), Shaolin #10 (Stand Moves), Shaolin Lo Han #1, Spring Autumn Big Knife

10th to infinity: no special order

Shao Lin Lo Han #2 to #18, Liu Ho #2 to #10, Cha # 5 and 6

Mi Tsung Sparring, Shao lin Hop Jin Sparring, Shaolin Lo Han Advance sparring

Horse Knife, Mi Tsung Saber, Lui Ho Saber, Swallow Tail Saber, Ti Tung Double Sabers, Double Daggers, Dragon Head Cane.

Two Section Staff, Three Section Staff

Lui Ho Spear, Plum Blossom Spear, Snake Spear, Hua Halberd, Chio Yeung Big Knife

Double Dagger vs. Spear, Double Dagger vs. Empty Hands, Sword vs. Sword, Saber vs. Spear, Triple Staff vs. Spear, Spear vs. Big Knife

[mad taoist]

I study bei chuan and our forms go in this order;

10 segments (forget the translation)

lien bu chan - connecting the feet
lien su chan - connecting fists/hands
ying zao chan - eagle claw form

and that's where I'm at .... not sure of the mandarin names for the next forms, and excuse the romanization where it is 'wrong'.

:)

[Dronak]

I just started taking a martial arts class in the fall, so I'm pretty new. I don't think our teacher has ever given us the Chinese name of the style. There are a fair number of non-Chinese speakers in the class, so he usually sticks to English translations. We were told that we'd be learning northern Shaolin long fist kung fu. Sorry, but I can't be any more specific than that; that's all that's written on the handout we got. I should also mention that our teacher is moving rather quickly. I think that he's not certain how long he'll be able to teach us in addition to his normal job and other MA classes, so he wants to give us as much as possible as quickly as possible. We've done two forms already, fall and winter, starting a third now in the spring, and some of us who passed a little exam he gave us are getting to do a fourth as well. Like I said, we're really moving.

The first form we did the teacher called Six Closing Fist. I don't know the Chinese name if he said it. In the winter we learned Power Fist / Gung Li Chuan. Now in the spring some people are learning Linking Step Fist / Lien Bu Chuan. Others are learning a long form of Yang style tai chi. People who passed the exam got primarily split into two groups, one doing First Ambush Fist / Yi Lu Mei Fu and the other doing Second Ambush Fist / Er Lu Mei Fu. The teacher picked a few people to learn Fourth Running Fight Fist I think he said.

As for the order, Six Closing Fist, Linking Step Fist, and Power Fist are the basic level forms. I was under the impression that they'd usually be taught in that order, but because they're all basically the same level it doesn't really make that much of a difference if they're not. The other ones we're doing now must be higher level then, intermediate I suppose. I have no idea if there's a particular teaching order for them or not. Oh yeah, we've learned the first five of ten tan tuie routines, too. I don't know if you'd consider them forms in the usual sense, but they are set practice routines, so I thought I'd mention them, too. I'm not sure when/if we're going to get around to learning the other five.

[norther practitioner]

Thank you for your replies. I have been curious as to how other schools curriculums compare to my shirfus. Some very similar, some a bit different. Again thank you.

Aumitofu

[TenTigers]

this is going way the heck back, so bear with me, I was only 15! but...we started with alot of basic movements and horse training and hei gung before ever learning a form, but the first form was 12 line tan tuie, followed by lien bo kuen, then gung lik kuen, yang tai chi, and then I left for college! My Sifu called it Bak Siu Lum. still not sure of the lineage, origin, it seems to be jing mo however.

[NorthernShaolin]

Ten Tigers,

12 line Tan Tui and Gung Lik kuen are Jing Mo (Ching Wu) sets while Lien Bo is originally from KMT or National Martial Arts Schools. Yang Tai Chi is taught everywhere. But it does look like your roots are Jing Mo.

[GeneChing]

Bak Sil Lum vs. Shaolin Temple just got re-published in our new format. A lot of you have been asking to see this one again, so here you go. :cool:

[Dronak]

I was just curious if anyone might be able to help me figure out what style I'm learning; something more specific that the "northern shaolin long fist style kung fu" a syllabus handout we have says. I'm trying to find books with the forms we're learning to use as references/reminders and a place to store notes, but I'm having trouble figuring out if books that look interesting are going to have what I want. As I understand it, Chang Quan translates into Long Fist, but it's also a kind of general term. I saw two books on Chang Quan by Cheng Huikun which looked like they might be helpful, but I don't know what forms are in them. Since that seems to be really hard to find out, I thought maybe I'd go for getting a Chinese name for my style instead and see if that helps. Unfortunately, the only forms I know Chinese names for I listed above.

Here are the forms (in English) that our original syllabus included: Tan Tuie (practice routine things, we were told there were 10 IIRC), Six Closing Fist, Linking Step Fist, Power Fist, Second Ambush Fist, Monk Staff, First Ambush Fist, Seven Stars Knife, Fourth Running Fight Fist, Three Elements Sword, Cross Fist, Three Elements Sword Fighting Applications, Knife vs. Spear Fighting Applications, Tai-Chu Long Fist, Third Cannon Fist, Fourth Cha Fist, Nine-Dragons Staff, Ba-Gua Broad Sword, Shao-lin Spear. It also lists some other skills that might be "taught according to personal potentials". I could list them, too, but considering one is Yang style tai chi, I get the feeling that they're generally not of the same style as the rest of the syllabus.

Does this list sounds like anything anyone recognizes? I have one book with some forms we're learning but would like to find more, ones with other forms not in the book I currently have. If anyone can help me out with identifying a style that contains these forms, it might help me in my book search. Thanks in advance for any assistance you may be able to provide.

[Dronak]

Since nobody answered (yet), I went and bought those two books I mentioned. I couldn't find anyone anywhere who could/would tell me what was in them and decided to take a chance and buy them blind. Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky this time. The forms given in those Chang Quan books are not the same as the ones we're learning in class. If the forms had names given to them, I'd tell you what they were, but they don't. The book just goes "these are the moves in this form" and lists the moves, no form name. One book does appear to have some nice pointers and descriptions of basic moves and techniques though and the other has a two person combat type routine, so I think I'll keep them and add them to my library.

Still, if anyone recognizes the forms I listed as part of some particular system/style, please let me know. I saw others mention Lien Bu Chuan and Tan Tuie, both of which are part of what I'm doing, so I thought someone here would be familiar with the other forms I listed. Can anyone help me out or should I assume the lack of responses means no one knows any more than I do right now about my stuff?

[norther practitioner]

Dronak, it sounds like your forms are out of Chang Chuan, a diverse northern/long fist. A lot of "Shaolin" schools will teach these because they make you perform all the same stances in a very similar if not the same way.... and it is derived in many ways from shaolin. Some say that chang chuan is all the northern long fist styles, and then it gets broken off from there.
first ambush fist
yi mu mei fu
is a cool form, I am actually prob. going to use it in the next tourney that I enter. The Tan Tui is a set taken from the Chinese Moslims, it is in most shaolin curriculums in some form, and most other northern schools have adapted a form of it into their curriculm.

[Dronak]

Thanks for the note, norther practitioner. I think I had heard that Chang Chuan was a rather general term for "long fist". If it's almost a catch-all term, I guess that explains why the new books I got don't have the same forms as the one I already had. It could be from a slightly different style or something. I'm not certain offhand, but I think the beginner form given in one of the two new books I got is the same as the one at http://www.wushulegend.com/ if you follow the external, long fist links. I'm not sure if that's of much general use, but having looked at it in the book, it doesn't look like anything I'm currently familiar with. I believe I read that at least some forms were standardized for competition purposes. I wonder if that's one of them.