Elephant Style Kung Fu

[Infrazael]

Hey sihing, does Sifu know any of the 5 "CLF-specific" animal forms???

That would be really cool.

Peace

[Vasquez]

Hey sihing, does Sifu know any of the 5 "CLF-specific" animal forms???

That would be really cool.

Peace

Animal styles are the best. but I think we should not learn too many, hard to choose which animal to use in a fight.

[Infrazael]

Animal styles are the best. but I think we should not learn too many, hard to choose which animal to use in a fight.

Um. . . . . . . OK. . . . . . you're the boss. . . . . .

[Fu-Pow]

Hey sihing, does Sifu know any of the 5 "CLF-specific" animal forms???

That would be really cool.

Peace

I don't think so. The animal forms that he teaches are Crane, Tiger, Leopard and 5-animals (which also has dragon and a little bit of snake.)

I believe that the former students of LKH in Florida (like CLF Nole) have a Snake vs. Crane form and I remember something about a Dragon-Tiger form.

The Chan Family seems to have more of the obscure animal sets so if you wanted to learn something in particular you might have to go outside of the LKH family.

Anyways, the thing is that even if you only ever learned Sup Ji Kau Dah and learned it inside and out that would give you enough of a foundation to be a pretty bad a$$ fighter. Sifu MaK has around 40 hand and weapon forms to teach and that's enough to keep anyone busy for a while. After all, do you want to be a fighter or a forms historian?

Most of the forms in CLF are designed to show you slightly different aspects of many of the same principles and techniques. The animal forms are little bit more specialized technique-wise but they still adhere to many of the same body principles and fighting strategies.

For me personally I like to keep learning new forms because it keeps me thinking and helps to reveal new things about techniques or prinicples that I learned before. However, at last cound I have learned 26 CLF hand and weapons forms and I probably know how to apply very little of all that I know (especially in regards to the weapons).

At this point I'm more interested learning to apply what I know and apply it under pressure. You do that by drilling and sparring not by learning more material

You see this in most people that are in kung fu for a while. They start out greedy for forms but eventually they say "Sifu, don't teach me anymore forms....I've got to work on what I already know!!!!!! "

[Infrazael]

Actually Sihing. . . . .

I don't practice forms that much, as opposed to drills and applications, or taking parts out of forms and training in them bits at a time.

I'm actually not worried about how many forms I learn at all. I want to train to become a good fighter (btw, are we open on Sunday?) Saturday I have a test. . . . before that I have work. . . . ******!!!

Peace

[Fu-Pow]

Actually Sihing. . . . .

I don't practice forms that much, as opposed to drills and applications, or taking parts out of forms and training in them bits at a time.

Don't get me wrong. Form practice is important. Especially at the beginning of training. It sets a solid foundation for further training. Essentially, it gets you in shape....so that you can get in shape!

In addition forms act as kind of a "compressed file" that stores a lot of information in a neat little package. However, eventually each part of the form must be uncompressed to reveal the possiblities that are contained inside. Only your Sifu can really do that for you in an efficient way. Sure you can do it on your own through practice but it takes a lot longer. Sparring and drills also helps to reveal a lot.

(Also as I stated before sometimes learning a new form from the same system can reveal things about a previous form...so having a well rounded system is a good thing...but be careful!)

What you often see in kung fu today is people who know a ton of forms either by learning them through various teachers or videos or whatever. Essentially they know the "compressed version." They don't see the possiblities contained inside. They don't have the whole picture. No one ever showed them how to "uncompress the file."

So I'm not too impressed with how many forms people know but rather how well they know what's contained inside them and how well they can apply it...especially under pressure.

[yutyeesam]

I'm actually not worried about how many forms I learn at all. I want to train to become a good fighter

wouldn't training in mixed martial arts be more your thing than CLF? CLF is good for fighting, but mma folks drill fighting techniques and fight all the time, full out - that is all they do. since they don't do things like forms, they spend more time fighting - which is the only true way to become a better fighter.

i personally dig on CLF b/c it has so much more to offer in addition to being a good fighter, but that's just wimpy ol me. i don't get into fights and have nothing to prove to anyone, so knowing how to fight for me is something that aids in understanding forms and make my forms better. I can make the case of why forms training is more practical and directly appliabe in today's society than training to be a fighter. But again, that's just me.

So, what is the appeal of traditional Kung-Fu to you if there are other arts out there that get at your goals more directly? (and I ask in all sincerety, not pomposity - i really do admire your enthusiasm for our art, and wished there were more like you in my area).

Peace
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[Infrazael]

wouldn't training in mixed martial arts be more your thing than CLF? CLF is good for fighting, but mma folks drill fighting techniques and fight all the time, full out - that is all they do. since they don't do things like forms, they spend more time fighting - which is the only true way to become a better fighter.

i personally dig on CLF b/c it has so much more to offer in addition to being a good fighter, but that's just wimpy ol me. i don't get into fights and have nothing to prove to anyone, so knowing how to fight for me is something that aids in understanding forms and make my forms better. I can make the case of why forms training is more practical and directly appliabe in today's society than training to be a fighter. But again, that's just me.

So, what is the appeal of traditional Kung-Fu to you if there are other arts out there that get at your goals more directly? (and I ask in all sincerety, not pomposity - i really do admire your enthusiasm for our art, and wished there were more like you in my area).

Peace
123

For me, Choy Lay Fut is one of the most brutal forms of striking anywhere. More so than kempo, kickboxing, karate (including kyokushin), even American boxing in terms of pure, raw power (generated by acceleration, gravity, centripetal force etc. . . . not getting into physics here).

I think CLF is on par with Muay Thai, Bando and any other striking system. I'm taking it because I like to fill more gaps in my Chinese heritage (if I was Thai I would be taking Muay Thai. . . . . . get it?). If I didn't think it was as powerful as the striking systems used in MMA, I wouldn't be taking it. And I did my research and calculations as well, both theoritical and mathematical (not doing it again).

And BTW, grappling is not my cup of tea, so obviously I wouldn't be training in MMA. If I was entering into competition, it would be San Shou, San Da, K-1 etc (considering if I EVER get good enough). And I would be using 100% CLF as well, not some horribly mutated version of amature kickboxing.

Sihing Fu-Pow -- Do we have class on Sundays??? I have a test and work from Thursday - Saturday (and tomorrow I have a trip), as well as the Monday after that, so if class is open on Sundays (I heard Azime mention something about Sunday sparring sessions), that would be great.

Or I could call Sifu. . . . . . grrr why didn't I think of that possibility at first.

*smacks himself with self-inflicted Sao Choy gone horribly wrong. OUCH!!!!*

Peace

[yutyeesam]

For me, Choy Lay Fut is one of the most brutal forms of striking anywhere. More so than kempo, kickboxing, karate (including kyokushin), even American boxing in terms of pure, raw power (generated by acceleration, gravity, centripetal force etc. . . . not getting into physics here).

Very true...just remember that it is more important to fight the individual than the style. You can have the hardest strikes in the world, but someone from another system can dominate you by having better distance, timing, and speed - those are the things that win the fights. And the only way to master those elements is by constantly fighting.
But I agree, CLF's method of generating power is pretty unique and effective.
-----------------------------------
Anyways, back to original topic -
I got more information on Elephant Style Kung-Fu guy, and as I guessed, he's not a CLF or for that matter, a southern arts guy. He learned the one form from Doc. My gf went to visit his school, and she said that he said he also teaches/practices the most popular form of kung-fu, which she said began with the letter M! What styles begin with M? She couldn't remember, and I was thinking maybe Muay Thai? But she said it wasn't that, that it was definitely Chinese. Any guesses?


-123

[yutyeesam]

Looking back on his website I'm guessing he said it was "Ambush Style"....

what is Ambush Style Kung-Fu? Anyone?

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[sean_stonehart]

I think Master Killer does some of the Ambush fist sets. It's Northern Shaolin.

[Ben Gash]

Ambush Fist is a less common translation of Meihuaquan. It's one of those Chinese play on words, 2 meanings in the phrase kind of thing.

[Thunaric]

Very true...just remember that it is more important to fight the individual than the style. You can have the hardest strikes in the world, but someone from another system can dominate you by having better distance, timing, and speed - those are the things that win the fights. And the only way to master those elements is by constantly fighting.
But I agree, CLF's method of generating power is pretty unique and effective.
-----------------------------------
Anyways, back to original topic -
I got more information on Elephant Style Kung-Fu guy, and as I guessed, he's not a CLF or for that matter, a southern arts guy. He learned the one form from Doc. My gf went to visit his school, and she said that he said he also teaches/practices the most popular form of kung-fu, which she said began with the letter M! What styles begin with M? She couldn't remember, and I was thinking maybe Muay Thai? But she said it wasn't that, that it was definitely Chinese. Any guesses?


-123

I live in Austin and recently switched from my old school to taking classes with Shifu Hwang. I've been going there maybe three months now so I'm very new there. He teaches a mixture of Chang tai chi (Chang tung-sen), Shuai Chiao, the elephant moves, as well as other forms of tai chi and internal arts. He puts these together in his own system though. I've never heard choy la fut mentioned here so I think the elephant style is not part of that. He does have a forum on the web site where he would probably answer anyone's questions. Also, the focus on the lineage is through Chang tung-sen.

I feel I made a good decision in changing schools and that Shifu Hwang has alot to teach.

[yutyeesam]

Cool. Thunaric, does your Sifu mention Meihuaquan (Mui Fah Kune in Cantonese)?


Thanks, Ben, for the explanation.

[Vasquez]

I think elephant kung fu must be a southern style maybe coming from indo china like thailand or vietnam. there are lots of elephants there. I've seen elephants in burma