"In the course on the Five-Animal Set we shall learn the inner essence of the five animals, as well as apply their sophisticated techniques for combat."
(Continued from Part 2)
There are a few kungfu styles that developed from the Shaolin five animals, like the Dragon Style, the Black Tiger Style, and the White Crane Style.
Dragon Style was developed by Pak Mei, one of the five famous Shaolin grandmasters, in the 19th century during the Qing Dynasty. No one master was credited for developing the Black Tiger Style, but Chee Seen, another of the five famous Shaolin grandmasters, and his two disciples, Sam Tuck and Hoong Hei Koon, were famous exponents. White Crane Kungfu was earlier, and was popularly practiced in Fujian Province (where the two southern Shaolin Monasteries were located), where it was commonly known as Wing Choon White Crane (not to be confused with Wing Choon Kungfu which came later).
There is another style of White Crane Kungfu popularly practiced in Tibet and Western China. This Tibetan White Crane is different from Wing Choon White Crane. The former is long-reaching, with extended arms like a crane’s wings, whereas the latter is short-range with open palms and kicks.
Two famous styles of kungfu named after animals, but not from the Shaolin five animals, are Monkey Kungfu and Praying Mantis Kungfu. There are actually many different styles of Monkey Kungfu, which are quite different from one another. Lama Kungfu, the style of kungfu practiced by Tibetan Lama experts, is a style of Monkey Kungfu with long swinging arms. Dong Bi Quan, or Extended-Arm Kungfu, is also another style of Monkey Kungfu, but both Lama Kungfu and Dong Bi Quan are based on the big-sized ape rather than the small-sized monkey. The small-sized monkey is the model for most styles of Monkey Kungfu. It is noted for agility and trickiness.
Praying Mantis Kungfu was invented by Wang Lang at the Shaolin Monastery in Henan by selecting the best of 18 different kungfu styles with the Praying Mantis as the basis. Wang Lang’s disciples spread the art to many places resulting in different styles of Praying Mantis Kungfu, such as Seven-Star Praying Mantis, Plum Flower Praying Mantis, Six-Harmony Praying Mantis, Emply-Plank Praying Mantis, and Taij Praying Mantis. But all these different styles are the same Praying Mantis Kungfu well known for kicks.
There is, however, a different type of Praying Mantis Kungfu known as Southern Praying Mantis. There are not many kicks in Southern Praying Mantis, but it uses the phoenix-eye fist.
The Five-Animal Set is popular in Hoong Ka Kungfu and Choy-Li-Fatt Kungfu, which are both Southern Shaolin. Because of its long history, there are different versions of Five-Animal Set, not only in different kungfu styles but even in the same style. Different schools in Choy-Li-Fatt Kungfu, for example, may practice different versions of the Five-Animal Set.
The Five-Animal Set practiced in our school was composed by me about 1995 when I wrote my book, “The Art of Shaolin Kungfu”. I consulted many kungfu classics as well as various sources showing the Five-Animal Set. I used the Five-Animal Set as the base of my book because Southern Shaolin, which my book was mainly about, was characterized by the Shaolin five animals.
Unlike the original Shaolin five animals with their internal development, most of the kungfu styles named after animals today are so-called because their external forms resemble the animals. Even practitioners of the Shaolin Five-Animal Set today may not realise the inner essence of the five animals.
This is perhaps quite inevitable, as almost all kungfu styles today, not just the Five-Animal Set, have only retained their outward forms but lost their inner essence. Not only many Five-Animal Set practitioners do not use the dragon form to train mind, or the tiger form to train internal force, the great majority of kungfu practitioners today only perform the outward forms of their kungfu sets without being able to apply their kungfu forms for combat.
We in Shaolin Wahnam are very lucky. In the course on the Five-Animal Set we shall learn the inner essence of the five animals, as well as apply their sophisticated techniques for combat. It will surely enrich whatever kungfu we choose to practice as well as enrich our daily life.
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There are a few kungfu styles that developed from the Shaolin five animals, like the Dragon Style, the Black Tiger Style, and the White Crane Style.
Dragon Style was developed by Pak Mei, one of the five famous Shaolin grandmasters, in the 19th century during the Qing Dynasty. No one master was credited for developing the Black Tiger Style, but Chee Seen, another of the five famous Shaolin grandmasters, and his two disciples, Sam Tuck and Hoong Hei Koon, were famous exponents. White Crane Kungfu was earlier, and was popularly practiced in Fujian Province (where the two southern Shaolin Monasteries were located), where it was commonly known as Wing Choon White Crane (not to be confused with Wing Choon Kungfu which came later).
There is another style of White Crane Kungfu popularly practiced in Tibet and Western China. This Tibetan White Crane is different from Wing Choon White Crane. The former is long-reaching, with extended arms like a crane’s wings, whereas the latter is short-range with open palms and kicks.
Two famous styles of kungfu named after animals, but not from the Shaolin five animals, are Monkey Kungfu and Praying Mantis Kungfu. There are actually many different styles of Monkey Kungfu, which are quite different from one another. Lama Kungfu, the style of kungfu practiced by Tibetan Lama experts, is a style of Monkey Kungfu with long swinging arms. Dong Bi Quan, or Extended-Arm Kungfu, is also another style of Monkey Kungfu, but both Lama Kungfu and Dong Bi Quan are based on the big-sized ape rather than the small-sized monkey. The small-sized monkey is the model for most styles of Monkey Kungfu. It is noted for agility and trickiness.
Praying Mantis Kungfu was invented by Wang Lang at the Shaolin Monastery in Henan by selecting the best of 18 different kungfu styles with the Praying Mantis as the basis. Wang Lang’s disciples spread the art to many places resulting in different styles of Praying Mantis Kungfu, such as Seven-Star Praying Mantis, Plum Flower Praying Mantis, Six-Harmony Praying Mantis, Emply-Plank Praying Mantis, and Taij Praying Mantis. But all these different styles are the same Praying Mantis Kungfu well known for kicks.
There is, however, a different type of Praying Mantis Kungfu known as Southern Praying Mantis. There are not many kicks in Southern Praying Mantis, but it uses the phoenix-eye fist.
The Five-Animal Set is popular in Hoong Ka Kungfu and Choy-Li-Fatt Kungfu, which are both Southern Shaolin. Because of its long history, there are different versions of Five-Animal Set, not only in different kungfu styles but even in the same style. Different schools in Choy-Li-Fatt Kungfu, for example, may practice different versions of the Five-Animal Set.
The Five-Animal Set practiced in our school was composed by me about 1995 when I wrote my book, “The Art of Shaolin Kungfu”. I consulted many kungfu classics as well as various sources showing the Five-Animal Set. I used the Five-Animal Set as the base of my book because Southern Shaolin, which my book was mainly about, was characterized by the Shaolin five animals.
Unlike the original Shaolin five animals with their internal development, most of the kungfu styles named after animals today are so-called because their external forms resemble the animals. Even practitioners of the Shaolin Five-Animal Set today may not realise the inner essence of the five animals.
This is perhaps quite inevitable, as almost all kungfu styles today, not just the Five-Animal Set, have only retained their outward forms but lost their inner essence. Not only many Five-Animal Set practitioners do not use the dragon form to train mind, or the tiger form to train internal force, the great majority of kungfu practitioners today only perform the outward forms of their kungfu sets without being able to apply their kungfu forms for combat.
We in Shaolin Wahnam are very lucky. In the course on the Five-Animal Set we shall learn the inner essence of the five animals, as well as apply their sophisticated techniques for combat. It will surely enrich whatever kungfu we choose to practice as well as enrich our daily life.
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