yes it's what i study, and he is right it mixes moves of each animal
Fun!
yes it's what i study, and he is right it mixes moves of each animal
Fun!
"..I don't hit, it hits all by itself."
Thanks for the input guys.
Five animal gung fu is all one style, The snake, tiger, leopard, crane and dragon though not practiced this way in all systems are a series of grips and grip releases. The archetypal five animal form is Rokushu (Tensho in Japanese karate) All of which can be appplied in Saamchin based pushing hands.
Does the five fists have fixed positions? I saw in the movie "Spirtual Kung Fu" done by Jackie Chan he uses the five fists to defeat the seven fists. i was wondered where all those moves fixed or can they be like more flauently done?
Theoretically there would be fixed postures and you would learn that first. The more comfortable you were with the individual postures in the form (s), The more you could apply any of them in whatever order fluently.
Or some such perhaps
There are four lights...¼ impulse...all donations can be sent at PayPal.com to qumpreyndweth@juno.com; vurecords.com
cheers
Does anyone know a 5 animals form nian shou chaun and is it any different than lian huan chaun, it looks like some of you have experiance in the art.
home in the here in the now
I am curious if anyone has any info on the five animals system from shaolin. Is it still being practiced by members of the temple? I am currently studying a five animals system and have been looking for more information on the system and it seems to drop off the map fairly quick. History or legend take your pick, has it being an origional system of Shaolin but besides offshoots in certain systems, and a form in others. I have not found much. Any leads would be of great help.
Here's a rewrite of an post that I made a long time ago:
Bak Mei has quite a few poems and couplets. Here is one of my favorites.
仙人指點龍蛇鶴
Xian Ren Zhi Dian Long She He
(Immortals instructs the Dragon, Serpent, and Crane)
師傅真傳虎豹形
Shi Fu Zhen Chuan Hu Bao Xing
(Teachers transmits the Tiger and the leopard forms)
Please note that in Chinese, the couplet was written with 7 characters on each phrase. The word "Xing" (forms) on the second phrase seemed to be extra to match up the phrase. It seems redundant.
Personally, I find it adds to the couplet a different dimension. IMHO, it serve 2 purposes. I shall discuss it below.
Let's take them apart:
Immortals: this shows the Daoist origin of the style and implies also the metaphysical facet of the art.
The Five animals:
Dragon is majestic in its "Shen" 神 - the perceptive spirit in the form of vital energy. Let your opponent feel the grandeur of your presence.
Serpent is venomous in its "Xin" 心 heart/mind. Evaluate your opponent, calculate your options and capitalize on his weaknesses. Be deceptive at all times.
Crane is graceful when it is airborn. The dance with its two feet is most beautiful to behold. It is the "Yi" 意 the intent that dominates at will the fight on the ground or during flight.
These three animals show the metaphysical aspects and internal nature of the style.
Tiger is tyranious in its "Li" 力 the strength that ferocity commands your opponent's respect. Pouncing, catching, tearing and dispatch him like Tiger preying on the lost lamb.
Leopard is fierce in its "Shi" 勢 the determination and dispositions. Agressively stalk the prey, stands its ground never retreating and strike terror into the core of your opponent's very being.
The five animals together show the Southern Shaolin connection of Bak Mei. It is of note that Bak Mei is more akin to Jiangxi Liu Men Jiao in its believe system which is Daoist inclined.
Shifu and Xing imply physical aspects and external nature.
Xing also makes up the 7th Character.
The coulpet is than to illustrate that:
1. Metaphysical aspects and internal teachings are "the essence" and are so hard to grasp that only the immortals are capable of instructing the student when he is ready.
2. The physical aspects (power, strength, forms, dispositions, etc.) are the external teachings, which the Shifu can transmit in person. Learning by imitation is the primary steps in the process. Also felines in the wild learn their hunting and fighting skills by play fighting with their parents and siblings. It is no difference in learning Kung Fu.
If we see a performance that seems to have all the power and the right movements but something is amiss, we know that the Shifu has done his best. It is the essence, which is missing. That is up to the student to learn the ultimate truth of the art. He has to find himself in the Kung Fu.
Just sharing some thoughts.
Mantis108
Contraria Sunt Complementa
對敵交手歌訣
凡立勢不可站定。凡交手須是要走。千着萬着﹐走為上着﹐進為高着﹐閃賺騰挪為
妙着。
CCK TCPM in Yellowknife
TJPM Forum
I know the shaolin 5 shape 8 method form (Wuxing bafa quan) from the temple. My teacher learned it from a folk master in henan province, but i've seen the monks at the temple do a variation of the same form ( or is it me doing the variation?). So it is still around somewhere.
The first line is tiger, 2nd is leopard, 3rd is dragon, 4th is snake and crane .
All the descriptions mantis108 gave are excellent for the spirit of each animal, cuz without the spirit, you look a little silly clawing the air for a minute and a half.
I know that shaolin teaches the individual forms for the five animals, but all i've seen are performance forms with a few moves that lead into an inside fall or a suicide. Not what I'd call traditional, but I'm sure the older generation monks know some cool stuff.
Oh yeah, there is the black tiger form. That's pretty cool.
ramble ramble ramble. Hope this helps.
Qin family Wuxingbafaquan. This is actually practiced in Beijing area as it is a part of the Da Jinggangquan system of the Qin family. There are two sets one of 108 and another of 72.
In the 80's some students of the Qin family and Shaolin developed a short abrdiged version which has since been practiced in the temple.
The so called suicide forms are just for show new inventions .....
The ancient Wuquan (5 Boxing) is still existent but since there weren't real inheritors the development of the sets from quanpu and quantu (drawings) has led to a funny interpretation by current practioners of shaolin temple.
Hope that helps
Cheers,
Wu Chanlong
Hi Robert,
You definately deserve a star on the kung fu walk of fame for that translation and explanation!!! One day you should sit back and write a book on Pak Mei poetry and it's explanations, I'll be your first customer :-)
This poem makes me proud to be part be training Pak Mei. Best regards, Lau
How goes it, my friend.
Thank you very much for the generous kind words and compliments. I am only doing my very little share.
Bak Mei as a traditional Kung Fu should be documented and preserved for the future generation IMHO. It would be great to do a book project on it someday. Just having a chance of talking to the elders and getting their story down on paper is a wonderful thing already.
Warm regards
Robert
Contraria Sunt Complementa
對敵交手歌訣
凡立勢不可站定。凡交手須是要走。千着萬着﹐走為上着﹐進為高着﹐閃賺騰挪為
妙着。
CCK TCPM in Yellowknife
TJPM Forum
Here's me doing the five animal form I know.
A bit sloppy, it was shot in 2003.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GaRqElpBjE
when i hear 5 animals i think more of a single form than a system, but my knowledge is very limited. it would be interesting to find out about such a system. everyone has heard of complete styles based on one animal: eagle claw, crane style, tiger syle, dragon style.
i wonder what it would 'feel' like to shift from one style to the other in the middle of an encounter, like evade an enemy's attack with a crane style move then reply with something from dragon.
Master...Teach me kung fu.