In the Chinese martial arts, imagery of the Five Animals (Chinese: 五形; pinyin: wǔ xíng; literally "Five Forms")—Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake, and Dragon—appears predominantly in Southern styles, especially those associated with Guangdong and Fujian Provinces.
The Five Animal martial arts supposedly originated from the Henan Shaolin Temple, which is north of the Yangtze, even though imagery of these particular five animals as a distinct set (i.e. in the absence of other animals such as the horse or the monkey as in T'ai Chi Ch'üan or Xíngyìquán) is either rare in Northern Shaolin martial arts—and Northern Chinese martial arts in general—or recent (cf. wǔxíngbāfǎquán; 五形八法拳; "Five Form Eight Method Fist").
The Legend of the Five Animals:
Shaolin first became famous because the Tang Dynasty (618–907) saw fit to favor the monastery with its patronage as thanks for the role its monks played in the Battle of Hulao. The sudden renown of the Shaolin martial arts attracted pilgrims who came specifically to study its fighting methods.
However, the more people that sought training at the temple, the smaller the proportion of them that had the time or the inclination to truly dedicate themselves. Some regarded the Shaolin imprimatur as a kind of talisman that rendered years of training unnecessary.
Others only wanted to fight well and cared little for esoterica like qìgōng, erasing over centuries the difference between the Shaolin martial arts and those crude methods on which it was supposed to improve.
Another was Jueyuan, who in the 13th century started from first principles with the 18 Luohan Hands, the original 18 techniques of the Shaolin martial arts.
Like those before him, Jueyuan used the original 18 Luohan Hands as a foundation, expanding its 18 techniques into 72. Still, he felt the need to seek knowledge from outside the confines of the temple.
In Gansu Province in the west of China, in the city of Lanzhou, he met Li Sou, a master of "Red Fist" Hóngquán (紅拳). Li Sou accompanied Jueyuan back to Henan, to Luoyang to introduce Jueyuan to Bai Yufeng, master of an internal method.
They returned to Shaolin with Bai Yufeng and expanded Jueyuan's 72 techniques to approximately 170. Moreover, using their combined knowledge, they restored internal aspects to Shaolin boxing.
They organized these techniques into Five Animals: the Tiger, the Crane, the Leopard, the Snake, and the Dragon.
Comments: Jueyuan is also credited with the Northern style "Flood Fist" Hóngquán (洪拳), which does not feature the Five Animals but is written with the same characters as the Southern style Hung Kuen, perhaps the quintessential Five Animals style. Moreover, as in the Southern Hung Kuen, the "Hóng" character (洪) in Hóngquán actually refers to a family name rather than its literal meaning of "flood." However, the two styles have nothing in common beyond their shared name.
Moreover, in Mandarin, "wǔxíng" is the pronunciation not only of "Five Animals," but also of "Five Elements," the core techniques of Xíngyìquán, which also features animal mimicry (but of 10 or 12 animals rather than 5) and, with its high narrow Sāntǐshì (三體勢) stance, looks nothing so much like a Fujianese Southern style stranded in the North.
Actress Brenda Song, who is a real-life Taekwondo practitioner, uses the "Five Animals" in the Disney Channel movie Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. In the popular PlayStation video game Tekken, character Lei Wulong, a homage to action star
Jackie
Chan, uses the "Five Animals."
Power of the Animals:
Learning five animal kung-fu will increase your strength, endurance and martial arts effectiveness
~ Written by Quinn
Early.
People are always looking for ways to
improve health and get in better shape. They
need to look no further than martial arts
for the answer. Looking better and feeling
stronger and healthier are the major
byproducts of adopting a martial arts
discipline. There are as many debates about
the best way to build strength and increase
fitness as there are styles available to the
practitioner.
I began my martial arts training in 1990
when I was drafted by the San Diego
Chargers. Shortly after my second season in
the NFL, I began looking for ways to improve
my football skills and overall health. Since
I was a huge Bruce Lee fan growing up, I
thought a great way to get in shape was
learning kung-fu. After all, despite his
smallish stature, Lee was a physical marvel.
If I could incorporate some of the training
techniques that made him pound-for-pound the
fastest and most powerful martial artist of
his generation, those skills might help me
become a better, more effective football
player.
I sought the help of a kung-fu instructor in
my area and settled on the fantastic,
diverse world of shaolin five animal
kung-fu, which incorporates the best of both
the internal and external disciplines of
Chinese martial arts.
Health Benefits: Shaolin
five animal kung-fu teaches many fighting
techniques, but more importantly it gives
the martial artist a great foundation
through stance training, breathing
applications and a mixture of internal and
external energy training. All these
attributes help build strength, power and
overall health.
Many factors make the five animal form
optimal for health and martial arts
cultivation: the practitioner will develop
physical strength, libido, chi development,
bone development and internal spirit. Since
these are a mixture of both internal and
external training techniques, it is said
that when these five things are combined the
result is a far superior martial artist.
History: Chan
(Zen) Buddhism was introduced to China
around A.D. 550. During the North-South
dynasty, a monk named Bodhidharma traveled
from India to Songshan Mountain in the Henan
province, the site of the Shaolin Temple.
There he meditated for nine years. At the
age of 76, he began teaching healing arts to
the monks of the temple. Since the monks
spent much of their time in meditation, they
were in poor physical condition. Bodhidharma
gave them a set of exercises that would
develop the physical strength necessary to
maintain the monastery and protect them in
the event of an attack. He gave them three
exercises: lohan shi ba (18 hands of
arhats); yi ji jing (book of changing
tendons); and xi shui jing (book of washing
bone morrow). At the end of the Ming dynasty
(1368-1644), Zhue Yuen, Li Sou and Bai Yu
Feng developed the five animal form, which
helped to complete the new shaolin system
and had a major impact on the state of
shaolin kung-fu.
The Five Animals: The
shaolin five animals consist of dragon,
tiger, snake, crane and leopard. Each animal
has characteristics that provide the
practitioner with an array of offensive and
defensive techniques. Only through a mastery
of each of these animals can one hope to
become a complete kung-fu stylist.
Dragon (Long Xing):
The Chinese dragon represents internal
strength. Contrary to popular belief, there
is no relation to the Western dinosaur or
fire-breathing dragon. Instead, according to
Buddhist writings, the Chinese dragon is a
mystical creature that can show itself to
those he wants, especially to those who have
reached the highest levels of enlightenment.
Chinese dragons also are said to live in
oceans or large bodies of water and are
believed to produce rain. They can make
themselves large or small, and are sometimes
said to be visible within the clouds if you
look closely.
The dragon form combines internal and
external energy to produce awesome and
devastating strikes. Dragon techniques
feature circular movements that can
penetrate with sudden explosiveness. Though
the claw is the primary hand technique used
within the dragon form, there are also
various palm and fist attacks that add to
the dragon form's effectiveness. However,
using the waist in a whipping action to
generate power is essential to the
development of proper dragon energy. The
dragon form uses internal conditioning
through proper breathing techniques to
develop qi (internal energy). This is done
by using the lower body to pull in air with
relaxed breaths. The breathing develops
flexibility, strength and power.
Dragon series. From an on-guard
position (1)
the attacker fires a right
punch. Quinn Early counters with
a left grabbing block and a
right dragon claw to the throat
(2)
A right two-finger strike to the
eyes (3)
is followed by a sweep of the
opponent's front leg (4-5)
He finishes with a right
knife-edge kick to the
stationary leg (6)
Tiger (Hu Xing):
In China, the tiger is said to be the king
of all land beasts. The Shaolin Monks
adopted the spirit of the tiger for its
courage, strength and power. Because its
energy is external in nature, the energy of
the tiger is different from the other
animals in the form. The tiger's strength
comes from hard-pressing attacks. Developing
a strong back and neck is essential for
strong stances. The primary technique in the
tiger form is the tiger claw, which targets
the opponent's face, neck, groin, arms and
wrist. The tiger form also utilizes palm
strikes, fists and special kicking
techniques, such as the tiger tail kick (fu
mei geuk). Like the dragon, proper breathing
is important for developing power and force.
The practitioner produces certain sounds to
expel carbon dioxide and replace it with the
oxygen necessary to deliver the proper
energy within his strikes.
Tiger defense. From a ready
position (1)
the attacker opens with a
right-left punch combination (2)
Early blocks the first shot with
a left tiger claw parry and
follows with a right tiger claw
parry (3)
Maintaining control of the
opponent's left arm (4)
Early applies a tiger claw to
the face. He adds a double tiger
claw to the face and groin (5-6)
He then pulls down the
opponent's head with his left
arm and strikes to the back of
the neck with a right swinging
forearm (7)
Snake (She
Xing):
The snake form is important for developing
qi within the five animal form. Because the
snake is a calm animal, it has more relaxed
energy. When the practitioner cultivates
this energy, the combination of relaxation
is mixed with quick, piercing strikes. There
are no closed fists within the snake form.
Instead, the hands are open and used for
penetrating chops and finger strikes. The
snake's spirit is calm and deliberate and
once the practitioner develops the proper
energy, his strikes are focused and
lightning-fast.
Snake defense. From a ready
position (1)
the enemy initiates a left punch
attack (2)
Early counters with a right
snake style outward block (2).
The opponent attempts a right
snap kick (3)
but Early stops the kick with
left double downward blocks. He
adds a right swordhand strike to
the eye (4-5)
then advances at a 45-degree
angle to finish with a leg sweep
(6)
Crane (He Xing):
The crane is known for its longevity. It is
believed that the crane lives such a long
life because its body contains a large
amount of jing, or essential energy. A calm,
meditative animal, the crane can stand on
one leg for hours, without shifting its
weight or growing restless. The crane form
helps the practitioner hold his internal
energy, which develops strength while
building bones and muscles.
Like the dragon, crane techniques are
circular in nature. However, the crane is
always soft and relaxed, but strikes with
penetrating speed and force. The crane form
is known for using the "beak" to
strike to targets such as the temple. It is
also known for its long, extended strikes
that mimic outstretched wings. The crane
form allows the practitioner to deliver
flowing, relaxed power as well as sudden and
focused attacks.
Crane style against a choke.
From a ready position (1)
Quinn Early comes inside his
opponent's arms and uses crane
wings to rake his opponent's
eyes (2-3)
He adds thumbs to the eyes (4)
and drives his palms into his
enemy's chin (5)
He then plants his elbow into
the sternum (6-7)
A crane beak to the groin (8)
is followed by a back knuckle
fist to the side of the head (9)
Leopard (Bao
Xing):
In China, the leopard's fierce and ferocious
power yields only to that of the tiger.
Though the leopard is a smaller animal, it
is believed to be, pound for pound,
stronger. The leopard relies on a
lightning-fast, powerful force that is
produced from relaxed, whip-like techniques.
It is important for the practitioner to
develop a flexible waist, which allows him
to develop quick footwork and explosive
strikes.
Since the leopard form focuses on quick
movements, there is little internal energy
training. But the internal strengths of the
dragon and snake blended with the speed and
force of the leopard make a devastating
combination. The main technique used in the
leopard form is a leopard fist that
penetrates vital areas of the opponent's
body, such as the throat, solar plexus and
groin. There are also elbow and forearm
techniques. The leopard's footwork is quick
and short, which helps the practitioner
develop strong stable stances.
Leopard defense. From a ready
position (1)
the attacker opens with a right
snap kick (2)
Early uses a left-arm downward
block and right horizontal
leopard strike to the throat. He
follows with a left vertical
leopard strike to the solar
plexus (3)
and a right leopard strike to
the groin (4)
The finishing move is a left
thrust kick to the chest (5)
3 Stages of
Training: Once the five animal
practitioner has mastered the pattern within
the form, he practices the three stages of
training. In the first stage, the
practitioner performs the whole form slowly,
mimicking tai chi or moving meditation. The
slow and soft movements massage the organs
and lead to health and longevity. The
martial artist also learns the essence of
each animal by moving slowly and
methodically. Breathing is deep and from the
abdomen to improve the circulatory system
and build the practitioner's qi.
The second stage of training is practiced
with external power. The emphasis is on
conditioning the bones, tendons and muscles,
while developing speed and power. This type
of training helps the practitioner build
strong stances while increasing stamina and
external strength. The five animal
practitioner puts all his skills together in
the third stage of training. The emphasis is
on the spirit and strengths of each
animal-both internal and external energy are
intertwined to give each animal life within
the form.
The snake and crane forms are performed with
relaxation and soft, or internal, energy
until explosive power is released at the
moment of impact. The tiger and leopard
produce devastating, lethal attacks that are
performed with quick and powerful, yet
relaxed, external energy. The dragon
combines both internal and external
movements to deliver powerful techniques.
Five animal training not only provides the
martial artist with the strength and power
for devastating fighting techniques, but
also teaches him to remain calm and relaxed
in even the most dangerous self-defense
situations.
I have truly benefited from the health
aspects I received from studying five animal
kung-fu. My kung-fu training contributed
greatly to my success and longevity in the
NFL and even though I am now retired, five
animal remains an integral part of my
physical and emotional well-being.
~ Quinn Early is a 12-year veteran of the National Football League. Retired since 1999, Early has more than 16 years of martial arts experience and has competed in numerous national and international competitions, winning medals in both combative and forms divisions. Early continues his study and practice of shaolin five animal kung-fu from his teacher, master Nathan Fisher.
