Five Animals Kung Fu?

[ไRui_Jingδ]

I just had a few questions. Your help is greatly appreciated.

#1 What is the best reference material I can get my hands on as a secondary aid to my teachers instruction? Is there a book, dvd or website that describes this style or shows some applications and how it can be applied?

#2 How legit are these video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jxwSzksq2I
- no dragon huh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkvxxuqoenI#Z4Qfie3aGmc
-the beginning of the second video looks like the form that a guy near me teaches

#3 Is 5 Animal Kung Fu an effective combat art?

#4 How does it compare to Wing Chun?

In all seriousness, the only thing I have to go off of is some wing chun training I did. I found it very practical and very effective. Is 5 Animal the same way? Does it have applications? Or is it just forms? What is the difference between 5 Animal and Wing Chun? What can I expect to see from the art? I have a great respect for the arts, but I am mainly looking for effective fighting methods. No nonsense, just straight to the point, logical, effective combat techniques. And if you guys think I should just stick with Wing Chun, tell me.

Thanks for your help.

[5Animals1Path]

I just had a few questions. Your help is greatly appreciated.

#1 What is the best reference material I can get my hands on as a secondary aid to my teachers instruction? Is there a book, dvd or website that describes this style or shows some applications and how it can be applied?

#2 How legit are these video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jxwSzksq2I
- no dragon huh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkvxxuqoenI#Z4Qfie3aGmc
-the beginning of the second video looks like the form that a guy near me teaches

#3 Is 5 Animal Kung Fu an effective combat art?

#4 How does it compare to Wing Chun?

In all seriousness, the only thing I have to go off of is some wing chun training I did. I found it very practical and very effective. Is 5 Animal the same way? Does it have applications? Or is it just forms? What is the difference between 5 Animal and Wing Chun? What can I expect to see from the art? I have a great respect for the arts, but I am mainly looking for effective fighting methods. No nonsense, just straight to the point, logical, effective combat techniques. And if you guys think I should just stick with Wing Chun, tell me.

Thanks for your help.

1. I've yet to find anyone or anything that really helps you pick up 5 Animal Fist in any kind of better way. There's not too much source material availible for it, and what is doesn't go much more in depth then to talk about the story/myth* of how it's the origin for all shaolin kung fu, and how they seem to think you'll just be able to blend the ideas for yourself. The closest things you're gonna find are either Hung Gar or Choy Lay Fut based.

2. The first guy, I'll go out on a limb, I'd say has no understanding of the basic ideas of 5 Animals. The tiger claw shouldn't be struck as a leopard or snake, for the same reason you don't hit someone with the thumb part of a closed fist. The second guy's on another thread here.http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/foru...ad.php?t=43701, and there's several comments on it there, mine included.

3. Yes, it's effective. The particulars of which are debatable, but if you want I'll send ya a pm of what I know about it.

4. Well, if you're learning southern 5 animals, not so much. At first. Tiger and leopard are gonna look like they're about 400 miles from WC. And they are, at first. It's when you start learning a mixed form, and crane, that you start to see why WC guys think it's a fusion of snake and crane.


That said, this is an extremely frustrating thing to learn. The base 4 (not counting dragon, as I've yet to learn much more then a few fingers worth of technique for it) do not mix all by themselves. You're essentially learning 4 very different ways of dealing with opponents, and -then- learning how to mix those things. It is not an "efficient" style by the meaning of fast learning, and I would not recommend training it unless you've got a real hardon for stress headaches. It's very straight to the point, and it's very no nonsense. Unfortunatly, these things do not make it easy to learn.

Just remember one thing if you decide to do it.




How much knowledge is really worth knowing if you didn't have to work your testicles (or ovaries, as the case may be) to earn it?




*I call it a story/myth because frankly, I don't really care if it is.

[5Animals1Path]

Maybe I shouldn't have been quite so honest.

[No_Know]

"squirrel kung fu - nah - eagle beats squirrel"- green willow

Actually, more at, Eagles Eat Squirrel. Kung-Fu is all friends.~

And Squirrel as I understand it would get as beat as it could versus Eagle so long as Eagle person was not hurt by being attacked.~

[No_Know]

"ไRui_Jingδ

#1 What is the best reference material I can get my hands on as a secondary aid to my teachers instruction? Is there a book, dvd or website that describes this style or shows some applications and how it can be applied?"

Your teacher is the best source. You must refer to your practice of your lessons. There are different expressions using this same name. You must know the exact lineage/origin/intended functioning of the style/form system to see examples of that type of Five Animals...

"#2 How legit are these video?"

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jxwSzksq2I
- no dragon huh?"

There are two sets of Five Animals here. These are blended forms. The first one's practitioner interviews the second one's Originator.


Likely animal form places at the Zoo section:
One o'clock--Dragon, Four thirty--Leopard, Six o'clock--Snake, Six-Thirty--Tiger, Ten o'clock Crane.

When saying five animals Kung-Fu or Style it might have traditionally meant five particular animals. Three groups used the same five but had a different order to them:Choy Li Fut ended with Snake (perhaps). Heung Family Start Dragon then Snake, then Tiger, then Leopard, then Crane. I understand that this order has to do with complexity of each form at least somewhat. Shao-Lin was Tiger then, Leopard, then Dragon, then Snake, then Crane.

Heung Family as I understand. Dragon is for big areas and left-rigth movement. Snake is more advanced and offers forward movement(perhaps backward also, however in Striking Snake maneuvers (if that is a form all on it's own-some might say snake does not retreat). Tiger is for power. Leopard is to only be learned after a foundation of Tiger and is for Strength. Crane for Sperm or libido.?.

Shao-Lin goes Dragon for Spirit, Snake for Breath(qi), Tiger for Bone/(?tendons)development~, Leopard for Ligaments or some such, and Crane for Sinews

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkvxxuqoenI#Z4Qfie3aGmc
-the beginning of the second video looks like the form that a guy near me teaches"

There are straightforward~ strikes with animal names. The Eight Methods might obscure the Animalness of the form. Power, Placement, Angle, Attuiude and Complexity might be why a technique is referred to as a particular animal here. I could see that the animal might be there and I not notice the take of the form's originator.



"#3 Is 5 Animal Kung Fu an effective combat art?"

It must be some-kind of effective or you might not have heard of it. The delivery of use, with the comprehension and ability of the practitioner and All that Is at that moment determine effect--it is perhaps undeterminable.

"#4 How does it compare to Wing Chun?"

Wing Chun stances and stepping seem small. Five Animal can be varied. Wing Chun has refined movement for practicality and efficiency it seems I might understand suchly. Five Animal provides options: when straight fails against a fighter there is curve. If power fails there is subtlety. If a punch is too general there are fingertips. The options and delivery systems~ compliment and compensate...

"In all seriousness, the only thing I have to go off of is some wing chun training I did. I found it very practical and very effective. Is 5 Animal the same way? Does it have applications? Or is it just forms? "

The forms have techniques. The techniques have applications. As with perhaps other things, there might be more applications than those with which you were presented.

"I have a great respect for the arts, but I am mainly looking for effective fighting methods. No nonsense, just straight to the point, logical, effective combat techniques."

Then Practice and think. But practice more because with practice, the technique will happen when appropriate and be varied to fit the situation. With training and application in the appropriate situation with the right timing perhaps Every technique could be combat effective.

Practice the Form and effective fighting will happen in Time with Achieved Work.


I No_Know

[Corwyn]

Well, I don't know if this is the right place or the right thread, but it's the only one I can find that had anything on 5 animal so I might as well jump in.

A friend asked me about this school near his house. Appearantly he found a flyer and sent me this link.

My first inclination was to tell him to run, but I am don't know enough to know if that is right. The BIG thing that scared me off is all the "advanced" stuff about the different Palm techniques.


What do you all think?

http://www.lifiveformboxing.com/stylesexternal.html

[shuaichiao]

Divine Immortal palm
Vibrating Palm
Burning Palm
ect ect

ROTFLMAO!!! THis guys a joke!!1

[Shaolin Wookie]

It sounds like D & D MA.....but they have some pictures with some old chinese dudes, so they have to be legit, right?

Plus, there's a guy doing some "totally rad" "secret flying ninja techniques" with a staff, which is really quite impressive (that kick like 10 ft. in the air) from an athletic point of view, and there's an overweight guy on some mai flower posts holding what appear to be bear claws.....I mean, tiger claws......

Could be pretend..........but maybe, just maybe, you'll learn the secrets of fire palm......or maybe they'll just douse your hands in gasoline, light 'em on fire, and then tell you you've mastered the deadly art of fire palm......but it might be a risk worth taking, in the end.....

[Shaolin Wookie]

Why not just check them out? Almost all martial arts sound cheesy and over-the-top when you visit a website.......

[hvillarruel]

Five Animals or Ng Gar Kuen its a kungfu style created by late GM Ark Wong. It is a southern style and very effective for fighting

SiFu Shewmaker was his first non-chinnese kungfu student of GM Wong. That make him the first non-chinnese to had learned kungfu in USA. He still lives and teaches.

He can be contacted at:

wetheshoemakers@yahoo.com

He is a living legend, and you have it there at USA!. If you are interested in southern kungfu, he is the man.

Regards,

Hector Villarruel

[mok]

Five Animals or Ng Gar Kuen its a kungfu style created by late GM Ark Wong. It is a southern style and very effective for fighting

No offense to the late Ark Y. Wong or to his lineage holders, but Ng Gar Kuen does not mean "five animals fist" - it means "five families fist".

Yes GM Wong's art is "A" 5-animal south-shaolin style, but it is not "the only" 5-animal south-shaolin style.

As I understand it, the 5 families referred to Hung, Choy, Mok, Li, and Lau, each of which is a legit 5-animal style to begin with (e.g. Hung Gar).

[hvillarruel]

You are right Mok. But usually, the Ng Gar System it is called the 5 animals system.



Have fun.

[Five animal]

Hi guys

I have just started practising Shaolin Five animal or WU XING QUAN.

I believe it is quite effective in terms of street applications. I have only been practising for a year now, however have noticed a marked improvement on health and fitness.

In all systems there are flaws, however I have found there are less within this system.

This is my personal view, so I don't mean any offense to other systems.

[lostdragon]

No offense to the late Ark Y. Wong or to his lineage holders, but Ng Gar Kuen does not mean "five animals fist" - it means "five families fist".

Yes GM Wong's art is "A" 5-animal south-shaolin style, but it is not "the only" 5-animal south-shaolin style.

As I understand it, the 5 families referred to Hung, Choy, Mok, Li, and Lau, each of which is a legit 5-animal style to begin with (e.g. Hung Gar).

Just for clarification- his system was called 5 animal/5 family fist. From what I remember, there are distinct animal forms as well as 'family' forms. There is video of him, his grandson Seming Ma, and others performing forms out there so you could get a feel for what they do. It is distinct from other southern animal styles, but shares other elements. I'll see if I can dig up some links.

[Five animal]

Opps I forgot to add we train in Northern Shaolin Five animal at our academy.