"four pillars" form ?

[johnv]

I posted this in the Shaolin forum, but I thought I'd post it here as well just in case this isn't really a Shaolin form....


One of my students recently learned a form from a teacher in San Antonio, and we're trying to figure out some info about the form. The teacher said he didn't know the name in Chinese, only in Vietnamese and English. He said in English it roughly translates to "four pillars" or "four directions". He said the style was "5 animals shaolin". Has anyone heard of this form or know anything about it?

It begins like this (after the bow):
The left leg slides out to the left as the left hand (open) blocks across the face, moving left to right - sort of an open-handed inward block.

Shift the weight to the left onto the left leg, left hand blocks/catches moving right to left, hand in a "claw" or grabbing position. At the same time, do a right punch to the front (the punch rotates all the way, so at the end of the punch the knuckles of the fist are facing left, while the "palm" is facing right).

This is followed by a right kick (roundhouse-like kick)....it goes on from there. I can describe more if anyone needs it, but I figure if you've heard of the form that should be enough.

Any help would be appreciated!

[Royal Dragon]

Could it be called "Four Corners"?

[johnv]

It's definitely possible. He said that "four pillars" was a very rough translation, and had to do with the fact that the form fought in all four of the major directions.....

so are you familiar with a form called "four corners" ? does my description sounds anything like it? I'm sorry, but my Shaolin experience is quite limited.

Thanks,
johnv

[conputer]

ok
here's my guess.
In vietnamese martial arts (vo dao or vo thuat) you have a form named tu tru quyen,the 4 pillars,mainly because it can be executed on 4 pillars.
I know this form in 2 different systems,hau qyen (monkey) and nam hai,a derived style from lam son vo dao.

BUT the way you describe the form makes me think to another one,which is a beginner form also called thien mon quyen(meditation door),that comes from the han bai quyen style.

Though i noticed some differences.In the thien mon quyen,you begin by moving the right leg,in a roundhouse kick like movement,and then you do the inward block with the left palm as you described it.

something very IMPORTANT:there is NO BOWING in vietnamese arts.Only in vovinam there exists somehting similar,but most of the time your salute is like the chinese one.

If you could attach or send me some pcitures of the form,that sure would help.

Have a nice day

[johnv]

Sorry, I didn't mean bow. It is more of a salute. Right fist in left palm. Thank you for the info - I'll try to get some pictures to you.

[johnv]

I don't have the pictures (yet), but he did mention that they have another form that translates to "Stone Lion", in case that helps pintpoint the system.