I learned a form from my Shifu, he only called it "Tiger"...I never thought to ask him the Chinese name; now I've been out of contact with him for several years.

The form seems to be a modern Songshan form. I found some versions on youtube, it is usually called Wu Xing Ba Fa. I wonder if there isn't another name for the form, because Wu Xing Ba Fa (5 animals, 8 methods), doesn't make sense. It is all based on Tiger.

Also the form is the same as the Songshan Wu Xing Ba Fa, except instead of the 5 animal hand techniques it only uses Tiger techniques, besides that the structure is basically identical.

So that makes me wonder, did someone just take the 5 animals version of WXBF and change it all to Tiger Claws to have a "Tiger" form? Or was this the original form and the other 4 animals added to create a 5 animals form?

Does the Tiger version have a poem? I remember Shifu referring to one move as "Tiger breaks ropes," but I don't know if there is a proper poem. Do any of you guys know this form? What's the reason for WXBF and an identical form with just Tiger?

There are several versions of both forms on youtube. There used to be a clip of Shi De Cheng doing the Tiger version, but that got taken down. This video has someone doing the form, along with a little video of Shi De Cheng doing it in the corner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaGFy8MBaDY

This is very close to the version I learned, but we did a few extra moves at the end, finishing in "Hero in a Horse Stance."

Enlighten me.