what school should I attend?

[burningflames]

Here are videos from a school that reportedly teaches shaolin five animals as well as mantis, nanquon, chanquon and yoga. People on bullshido said the forms might be sloppy and undeveloped. Im 27 and want to learn kung fu. Im especially interested in the animal styles because they are so ancient to everything else like wing chun and karate. Plus im still reasonably young so I could train and condition to a high level still.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWnu-mCdd7I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC6dm...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtEs6...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-fm5...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXcOnwC07QI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yLeg...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85lDF...eature=related

[burningflames]

There is another school, run by a chinese wushu certified champion winning instructor. IT teaches (and I am interested in) xingyi, baguazha, southern crane, southern tiger, tai chi

[TenTigers]

you'd be much better off in the wushu school.
That first school is nothing more than modern dance.

[hskwarrior]

OK.....here we go.........

lets see how predictable things will get

[TenTigers]

you'd be much better off at the second school-the wushu school, rather than that first one, which is nothing more than modern dance.

[burningflames]

I should post the descriptions of tiger, leaopard and dragon from the first school.


Tiger

The Tiger is an ancient and majestic creature of incredible power and strength. It uses its weight, momentum, and bones, combined with razor sharp claws and jaws to crush and mangle its opponent. A tiger is a very aggressive head on type of creature, yet it does not fight with clumsy brute strength, it uses controlled strength, with every ounce of primal skill at its disposal.

A tiger will never retreat, even in the face of death, it will viciously attack, even against a thousand adversaries. From the tiger we learn bravery, bone strength, tenacity and indomitable spirit. So how does one go about turning themselves into a tiger? The first thing is dedication and commitment first and foremost. Then a lot of strength training. Tons of various types of calisthenics, fingertip pushups, leaps, squats, stance holds, etc. Things that force extreme discipline. Through long rigorous hours of this type of regiment a pupil eventually, after several months, becomes strong enough to begin the next level.

The next phase consists of various types of basic hand and leg attacks. The student also begins the trade mark of tiger at this level, the claw. The claw is developed through exercises such as finger tip push ups, ripping at trees, carrying steel shot puts with the fingers and driving the claw into buckets filled with rocks and steel pellets. This is called iron palm training. The disciple of tiger slaps water and rock and hits lead filled bags and trees with his bones until the arms and legs are hard as iron pipes. At this level a student has not learned to fight against another opponent yet, even so, his body is hard as nails. He has developed basic tiger armor. Armor development and striking tough objects is a phase that lasts at least a couple of years. This stage prepares the disciple for martial combat.

The next level of tiger training involves specific tiger patterns or in other words, forms. Coupled with the martial applications of a multitude of fighting sets and sequences the practice of forms, over time, gives the disciple a vast knowledge of bone anatomy, joint manipulation or better said, how to completely rip an opponent apart! After many years, if trained properly, a disciple of tiger has enough strength in his claws to separate muscle from bone and tear it from the body.

The next level consists of exercising breath control and meditation as well as weapons training. A master of Tiger is just like a tiger in every way. He will even look like a tiger and he will have a straight to the point, no nonsense attitude in life.


Dragon

The Dragon style is without a doubt among the oldest of Kung fu systems. The concept of dragons has been deeply embedded within the human psyche for thousands of years. Every culture in the ancient world has tales of dragons interacting with, influencing and even breeding with human kind. The dragons of the west were often portrayed as evil flesh devouring, blood thirsty enemies of human kind, whereas the eastern dragons were vegetarian and bringers of peace and prosperity, also known as guardians of humankind.

The only limits of any style always depend on the individual. With the dragon style in particular one thing that must be considered first and foremost is the fact that dragons are just as diverse as humans in their movements, combat patterns and personalities, as well as any other characteristics. From a chinese martial point of view, the southern dragon emphasizes more strength and power and has a very low, slithering, creeping style that is designed to get up underneath an opponents foundation. Pretty scary! The southern dragon will also use a series of fast rushing uppercut attacks as well as joint locks and fatal pressure point attacks.

The northern dragon on the other hand will generally use longer ranged attacks with blinding speed and, being very adroit at ariel combat, can employ a barrage of flying and spinning attacks. Both the southern and the northern styles run together at the higher levels.

After a long periods of holding stances and conditioning ones bones a basic student of dragon has developed a stronger body and is now ready to learn basic twisting attacks. Coiling and uncoiling from cross legged stances are essential to the dragons style. Learning to twist the body properly can give one not only an incredible power to strike with hands and legs but also the ability to create illusion and unpredictability in the opponents mind! Once the student has developed the basic twisting attacks to some degree of proficiency he/she is now ready to learn more advanced attacks such as the dreaded dragon tail kicks as well as a multitude of other attacks. Dragon legs is an acquired level of training designed to ultimately give the student mastery over the art of kicking. In addition, the practitioner learns elusive patterns of arm and leg movements based on continuous motion, as well as the legendary razor claw.

Razor sharp claws are developed over many years by doing fingertip pushups and fingertip handstand holds. Other methods of developing the claw include lifting, holding and carrying large mouthed jugs filled with water, twisting bamboo and ripping and slashing at trees. Few ever develop the claw to this pentacle and that is very fortunate because in the hands of one impure of heart it can be a disaster! A master of the dragons claw can slash an assailant open causing critical blood loss that would be measured in pints rather than drops. It must be stated that with this level of skill the dragon has the most responsibility of all styles and must avoid combat at all costs! Only in dire circumstances will a true master of dragon open the fatal gates of chaos.

Powerfully writhing back and fourth with continuous movement, the dragon stylist leaves no fixed target. Twisting, winding and elusively luring its opponent into an aggressive pursuit, the dragon causes the aggressor to over extend himself. It is In this instant when the crafty dragon springs its fatal trap. The next question might be ‘What trap would the dragon spring?’ What ever it wants! The dragon has infinite weapons at its disposal; grasping, Locking, gouging, slashing, crushing, kicking, death roll, constriction, joint manipulation, etc the list goes on and on. A strong rule of survival is to never chase a dragon. It’s almost always a trap. On the other hand, should the dragon choose to stand and fight, it still won’t fight head on. It will use sequences of oblique and angular attacks, combined with blinding speed and deadly accuracy. Spinning, twisting, writhing, winding, coiling and springing while kicking and slashing, the master of dragon attacks with a strength and flexibility not of this world.

The deadliest thing about a dragon is its cunning and extremely deceptive mind. As a result it can turn the tides in the worst of situations. The dragon in combat, is every bit smoke and mirrors, as it is skilled in the highest levels of battle. The dragon possesses the magical ability to reflexively create within the midst of battle. In addition, the dragon is very fond of taking the fight off the battle field and deep into the unfamiliar sea of asymmetrical warfare or in other words, tactics of unequal proportion or even simpler the guerilla warfare of hand to hand combat.

[burningflames]

I should post the descriptions of tiger, leaopard and dragon from the first school.


Tiger

The Tiger is an ancient and majestic creature of incredible power and strength. It uses its weight, momentum, and bones, combined with razor sharp claws and jaws to crush and mangle its opponent. A tiger is a very aggressive head on type of creature, yet it does not fight with clumsy brute strength, it uses controlled strength, with every ounce of primal skill at its disposal.

A tiger will never retreat, even in the face of death, it will viciously attack, even against a thousand adversaries. From the tiger we learn bravery, bone strength, tenacity and indomitable spirit. So how does one go about turning themselves into a tiger? The first thing is dedication and commitment first and foremost. Then a lot of strength training. Tons of various types of calisthenics, fingertip pushups, leaps, squats, stance holds, etc. Things that force extreme discipline. Through long rigorous hours of this type of regiment a pupil eventually, after several months, becomes strong enough to begin the next level.

The next phase consists of various types of basic hand and leg attacks. The student also begins the trade mark of tiger at this level, the claw. The claw is developed through exercises such as finger tip push ups, ripping at trees, carrying steel shot puts with the fingers and driving the claw into buckets filled with rocks and steel pellets. This is called iron palm training. The disciple of tiger slaps water and rock and hits lead filled bags and trees with his bones until the arms and legs are hard as iron pipes. At this level a student has not learned to fight against another opponent yet, even so, his body is hard as nails. He has developed basic tiger armor. Armor development and striking tough objects is a phase that lasts at least a couple of years. This stage prepares the disciple for martial combat.

The next level of tiger training involves specific tiger patterns or in other words, forms. Coupled with the martial applications of a multitude of fighting sets and sequences the practice of forms, over time, gives the disciple a vast knowledge of bone anatomy, joint manipulation or better said, how to completely rip an opponent apart! After many years, if trained properly, a disciple of tiger has enough strength in his claws to separate muscle from bone and tear it from the body.

The next level consists of exercising breath control and meditation as well as weapons training. A master of Tiger is just like a tiger in every way. He will even look like a tiger and he will have a straight to the point, no nonsense attitude in life.


Dragon

The Dragon style is without a doubt among the oldest of Kung fu systems. The concept of dragons has been deeply embedded within the human psyche for thousands of years. Every culture in the ancient world has tales of dragons interacting with, influencing and even breeding with human kind. The dragons of the west were often portrayed as evil flesh devouring, blood thirsty enemies of human kind, whereas the eastern dragons were vegetarian and bringers of peace and prosperity, also known as guardians of humankind.

The only limits of any style always depend on the individual. With the dragon style in particular one thing that must be considered first and foremost is the fact that dragons are just as diverse as humans in their movements, combat patterns and personalities, as well as any other characteristics. From a chinese martial point of view, the southern dragon emphasizes more strength and power and has a very low, slithering, creeping style that is designed to get up underneath an opponents foundation. Pretty scary! The southern dragon will also use a series of fast rushing uppercut attacks as well as joint locks and fatal pressure point attacks.

The northern dragon on the other hand will generally use longer ranged attacks with blinding speed and, being very adroit at ariel combat, can employ a barrage of flying and spinning attacks. Both the southern and the northern styles run together at the higher levels.

After a long periods of holding stances and conditioning ones bones a basic student of dragon has developed a stronger body and is now ready to learn basic twisting attacks. Coiling and uncoiling from cross legged stances are essential to the dragons style. Learning to twist the body properly can give one not only an incredible power to strike with hands and legs but also the ability to create illusion and unpredictability in the opponents mind! Once the student has developed the basic twisting attacks to some degree of proficiency he/she is now ready to learn more advanced attacks such as the dreaded dragon tail kicks as well as a multitude of other attacks. Dragon legs is an acquired level of training designed to ultimately give the student mastery over the art of kicking. In addition, the practitioner learns elusive patterns of arm and leg movements based on continuous motion, as well as the legendary razor claw.

Razor sharp claws are developed over many years by doing fingertip pushups and fingertip handstand holds. Other methods of developing the claw include lifting, holding and carrying large mouthed jugs filled with water, twisting bamboo and ripping and slashing at trees. Few ever develop the claw to this pentacle and that is very fortunate because in the hands of one impure of heart it can be a disaster! A master of the dragons claw can slash an assailant open causing critical blood loss that would be measured in pints rather than drops. It must be stated that with this level of skill the dragon has the most responsibility of all styles and must avoid combat at all costs! Only in dire circumstances will a true master of dragon open the fatal gates of chaos.

Powerfully writhing back and fourth with continuous movement, the dragon stylist leaves no fixed target. Twisting, winding and elusively luring its opponent into an aggressive pursuit, the dragon causes the aggressor to over extend himself. It is In this instant when the crafty dragon springs its fatal trap. The next question might be ‘What trap would the dragon spring?’ What ever it wants! The dragon has infinite weapons at its disposal; grasping, Locking, gouging, slashing, crushing, kicking, death roll, constriction, joint manipulation, etc the list goes on and on. A strong rule of survival is to never chase a dragon. It’s almost always a trap. On the other hand, should the dragon choose to stand and fight, it still won’t fight head on. It will use sequences of oblique and angular attacks, combined with blinding speed and deadly accuracy. Spinning, twisting, writhing, winding, coiling and springing while kicking and slashing, the master of dragon attacks with a strength and flexibility not of this world.

The deadliest thing about a dragon is its cunning and extremely deceptive mind. As a result it can turn the tides in the worst of situations. The dragon in combat, is every bit smoke and mirrors, as it is skilled in the highest levels of battle. The dragon possesses the magical ability to reflexively create within the midst of battle. In addition, the dragon is very fond of taking the fight off the battle field and deep into the unfamiliar sea of asymmetrical warfare or in other words, tactics of unequal proportion or even simpler the guerilla warfare of hand to hand combat.

[TenTigers]

run.
run away as fast and as far as you can....

[hskwarrior]

run.
run away as fast and as far as you can....

ahhhhhh I TRIED TO TELL EM.........

IT's about to get hot in here!!!!!!!

[burningflames]

so im looking at one poor misguided sifu and one nice wushu certified champion winner from china. too bad for the first guy

the first guy (teaching the five animals as well as mantis) said that kung fu was the alchemy of the primal self and about changing the self from within. he also teaches yoga and is into the chinese elemental philosophy

[burningflames]

this would be the link to the second school, which as you can see does san shou as well. the sifu there has reminded me that xingyi has animal forms in it

http://www.chinesemartialartscenter.com/

but man i admit, i really wanted to learn the five ancestral ancient animal kung fu. does that even exist anywhere? its on wikepedia

[hskwarrior]

The yoga part would have been the ONLY Red Flag I'd need. just sayin

[burningflames]

this would be the link to the second school, which as you can see does san shou as well. the sifu there has reminded me that xingyi has animal forms in it

http://www.chinesemartialartscenter.com/

but man i admit, i really wanted to learn the five ancestral ancient animal kung fu. does that even exist anywhere? its on wikepedia

[burningflames]

The yoga part would have been the ONLY Red Flag I'd need. just sayin

well you are now confusing me. yoga is pretty good i thought. good for the mind body spirit breath and all that, and has some pretty deep hindu psycho/spirit/god/goddess/energy/philosophy to go with it

[hskwarrior]

My advice would be DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO and not worry about what a hand full of people would think. if you not into fighting, learn the whole system.

well you are now confusing me. yoga is pretty good i thought. good for the mind body spirit breath and all that, and has some pretty deep hindu psycho/spirit/god/goddess/energy/philosophy to go with it

unless he has a decent background in regards to fighting, to me it can be street or the ring...then the yoga is ok cause its always good to be nice and limber. but, the stereotype of yoga people is not that flattering.

personally, i prefer the kinda teacher my sifu is.