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Thread: WTF is dragon dancing?

  1. #1

    WTF is dragon dancing?

    My job is hosting a local cultural event in a few days. I looked at the itenerary, and one of the things listed is chinese dragon dancers. I've heard of lion dancing, but dragon dancing?
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    Big long dragon chases a ball around. Similar to Lion Dancing, but done with more people.

  3. #3
    aa friend of mine trained under a hop gar sifu named ku chi wai. He said "if your lion dancing is good, your kung fu is also good". Would that apply to dragon dancing also?
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    Not really. It's not really on the same level, athletically speaking.

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    how is lion dancing supposed to equate to good martial skill?
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    Quote Originally Posted by red5angel
    how is lion dancing supposed to equate to good martial skill?
    How is breakdancing supposed to equate to good martial skill?

    Besides, I imagine that's just what the sifu said to get his students to lion dance.

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    lol, seriously though, I've heard that said a few times. I'm just curious what it is about lion dancing that is supposed to equate to good martial arts?
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    Quote Originally Posted by red5angel
    how is lion dancing supposed to equate to good martial skill?
    A good lion dance team will work in syncronization, implying good timing. The head will show his upper body strength, which is developed through hard training, by rigorously shaking the head of the lion. Acrobatics are involved as well to show how nimble, flexable and dexteritous the individuals are. The tail end of the lion is responsible for leading up many of the higher end acrobatics and is also responsible for following the directions and leads of the head, showing good reaction time and reflex.

    Trust me, if you see good kung fu practitioners do a lion dance and then see awfull kung fu practitioners do a lion dance, you will imediately see the difference. A good martial artist will be able to tell how good the dancers are at their martial arts by observing the body mechanics used as well as the difficulty in movements performed, in acordance with teamwork.

    edit: this is just a small list of simple examples.
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    I also think you can tell who are good kung fu practioners while doing lion dancing by the deepness of there stances and transition between stances. It's not easy to stay in those low stances for extented periods of time...

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    makes sense to me, and what I suspected, just wanted to confirm. So it doesn't translate directly, but in theory if one is training well in the martial arts, one will probably also be good at the lion dance?
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    Quote Originally Posted by red5angel
    makes sense to me, and what I suspected, just wanted to confirm. So it doesn't translate directly, but in theory if one is training well in the martial arts, one will probably also be good at the lion dance?
    Precisely. Also, it can be darn tough for a lion dancers to keep their sync going and stances low while they have firecrackers blowing up at their feet.
    A man has only one death. That death may be as weighty as Mt. Tai, or it may be as light as a goose feather. It all depends upon the way he uses it....
    ~Sima Qian

    Master pain, or pain will master you.
    ~PangQuan

    "Just do your practice. Who cares if someone else's practice is not traditional, or even fake? What does that have to do with you?"
    ~Gene "The Crotch Master" Ching

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    Ive also seen some really strong lion dancers who are only decent in there martial side of training.

    As far as the endurance for repetious movment, and the leg strength for the tail, then yes, it can be seen how hard somebody has been training.
    Bryan Davis

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    One of the easiest ways to understand how you can tell someones kung fu is good by watching lion dancing is this. Watch some 3rd year practitioner dance. Then watch an actual master dance. Trust me, you will see the difference. Its fluididy, timing, preciseness, control, strength, flexability, endurance, dexterity. An only decent kung fu practitioner will not possess all of these in his dancing. He would be missing or severly lacking several of the above named attributes.
    A man has only one death. That death may be as weighty as Mt. Tai, or it may be as light as a goose feather. It all depends upon the way he uses it....
    ~Sima Qian

    Master pain, or pain will master you.
    ~PangQuan

    "Just do your practice. Who cares if someone else's practice is not traditional, or even fake? What does that have to do with you?"
    ~Gene "The Crotch Master" Ching

    You know you want to click me!!

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    I would sat somebody who never trained in martial arts, meaning the fighting techniques or fighting priciples can of course learn how to lion dance with the best of them. Your kung fu would be in lion dancing and not kung fu in martial forms of application.
    Bryan Davis

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    This is true. The main difference you would see in someones dancing who has no martial background would be things such as powerfull kicks. You will note a flowery substance to the movements versus a direct power driven form. But bigdoing is correct, you could develop dancing kung fu without any wushu training. But a veteran martial artist will be able to tell the difference. A martial artist will take every advantage to show their skill when dancing. Especially if they are challenged by another lion.

    Woe is the day a non martial artist is lion dancing and challenged by a martial artists lion team.
    A man has only one death. That death may be as weighty as Mt. Tai, or it may be as light as a goose feather. It all depends upon the way he uses it....
    ~Sima Qian

    Master pain, or pain will master you.
    ~PangQuan

    "Just do your practice. Who cares if someone else's practice is not traditional, or even fake? What does that have to do with you?"
    ~Gene "The Crotch Master" Ching

    You know you want to click me!!

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