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jon
hehe...read your email...nice descriptions...EAT MORE FOOD darnIT!!!
cut above...? nah...but maybe on the pieces part...hehe
shaolin dragon? i'm not too familiar with many CMA so i've no idea how it looks. admittedly, some palms i've seen ARE dragon-like as well...
talk to you later...
cherry ;)
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snake style kung fu
Hi all. Soon, (i hope) i will start training in snake style kung fu. Can anyone give some input on the system. Much appreciated.
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Watch Jackie Chan's Snake Fist or Snake in the Eagle's Shadow. ;)
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I saw snake in eagles shadow, but i'm so used to movies embellishing true martial arts with aerobics and dances that i didn't think it was the real system i was watching. Does this mean that Chan uses authentic systems in his movies?
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I think Jackie wants everything to be real.
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I saw an interview with him and he said he made most of it up for Snake in the Eagle's Shadow.
Peace.
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From a bit of research, the authentic snake system seems to be fairly hidden from western society. In Australia where I live, they have a school in the Eastern states, which teaches SNAKE and CRANE style...
Most Kungfu schools claim to teach "genuine shaolin snake kungfu" but I think many of these are somewhat "sugar coated" - call it a gut feeling if you want
As many of the shaolin systems imitated animal movements, im guessing that the snake system would be very fluid, and emphasise lower back and arm movements, with finger strikes..
As we know today, the finger strike to the eyes is an extremely effective movement, and you would think that this would be one of the main objectives for a snake stylist, to immobilize and sting its prey..
Also snakes are known to wrap themselves around the neck of there prety in a BJJ way.. Mabye snake style kungfu was very similar to BJJ crossed with strikes to the eyes (what the BJJ fighters would probably do if there were NO RULES in the fights)
makes sense to me, but im interested to know more, ?????
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well, there is not "a" snake style, but many of them.
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A couple of years ago, cyberkwoon published an mpeg of a snake form from a German guy. Don't know if it's still there or if it was a members-only thing...
-David
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Snake Gung Fu
Someone I used to know studied a style called "Internal Snake" here in London somewhere. Claimed to have done a lot of Chi Gung and ground work. Dont see him much anymore though. If I see him again I'll get some more info for you guys.
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I remember reading an interview with Jackie where he said they researched traditional snake fist for the role, but it wasn't exciting enough, so they threw in a load of Peking Opera stuff. I must say the snake I know is very subtle, and probably wouldn't look good on film.
I think Shaolin Master has some knowledge/experience of Fuken Snake Boxing.
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I teach five animals, which includes a strong snake element. I encourage my students to develop a specialty in one animal. I currently have one student who is showing a strong affinity toward snake style.
The snake techniques I teach probably number about 15-20, but snake style is more characterized by its approach rather than specific techniques.
Snake is characterized by fluid and deceptive motions with unexpected variations of tempo. As I teach it, snake is primarily defensive. This is primarily because I personally never developed any proficiency using snake style offensively. My son, for example, frequently uses a snake style defense, but switches rapidly to leopard for counterattacks.
It is very difficult to attack a competent snake practitioner. Your attacks disappear into a shifting, twisting mass. It throws your timing off and creates a general sense of something just not quite right.
It is a demanding style, mostly because of its subtlety. Relaxation (as with many styles) is paramount. Techniques switch rapidly from soft to snappy and back to soft. I find it difficult to teach to someone who doesn't "get it." My cop out response is that students either get it or they don't, and that there is nothing you can do about it.
This is just my own shortcoming, not a reflection of the style. However, a natural affinity for the style certainly helps.
-B
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Thank you all for the input. From what i have read, (from many sources), everyone has more or less the same thing to say about snake. It's supposed to be subtle, fast, finger strikes, defensive,no blocking, more like evading attacks, and include much internal training. I have read about grappling in the style but there's not much info on that aspect. I plan on specializing on this style alone. From all that i have learned tho, this still is highly unsuitable for tournaments because the tecniques used can cause permanent damage. Can anyone voice some info on the grappling aspect and how this style would stand up in a tourny?. (Tho tournaments to me are illogical, martial arts were made to defend, not fight other martial artist.) This is the main reason why i like snake.
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I was taught a Snake form from Shaolin Five Animals style.
It is a whole form but not a system unto itself.
I have also seen other snake forms that belong inside of larger systems.
It is an important flavour of Kungfu for a few reasons.
Just a couple of which are:
It has coiling and springing power generation (like a snake)
It has pinpoint striking methods (like a snake)
It has constricting methods ("")
It has fluidic motion in it's stepping patterns ("")
The form I was taught had as one of it's focuses the work on the breath (Chi).
The form I learned is considered "internal" in it's nature.
I found it (the form) to bring a more holistic approach to how I practiced overall Kungfu.
Where my fundamental tiger forms were once a little "rigid", they became more fluid after practicing snake for a year or two.
The snake has definitely influenced the Tiger in me personally.
The hand forms are interesting and targeting must be precise.
The eyes get a workout as well because of this.
the twisting and coiling motion of the whole body works like an internal massage most times and generally makes me feel good after performing the snake training.
I liked that movie with Jackie (snake in an eagles shadow) :D
I'm going to watch it today!
cheers
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Um, netfreak, martial arts WERE developed to fight. Many of the great MA innovators were soldiers, and the history of MA is littered with duel after duel.