What is your favourite animal style? Remember if you want to learn more about getting explosive power, make sure you watch this video on foot work, so that you understand when and how to generate different kinds of power- ua-cam.com/video/jFui6Ocewpo/v-deo.html
good stuff. That strike where you throw the hand and catch yourself is something Josh always used to use. We have a similar idea in Mantis which we call "half falling down step", and is often explained as the step of a drunkard
This is interesting but very different from the tiger style I practice and teach. With us it's all about using the weight of the animal. You never lead with the hand but drive your body forward with your hand moving last so it has the full weight of your body behind it. The movements are heavier using relaxed power and with no jumping kicks. It's interesting how so many kung fu styles based themselves on copying the same animals yet look and feel so different.
It is very interesting how many different takes people have. They look at the same animal, one might be inspired by its power, another it's size, another it's ability to stalk its prey. All come away with something different. I suspect that in a lot of cases a movement or principle came first, and someone came up with a memorable way to explain it, or garnished things with a little flair to make it seem more exciting! Both mnemonics and marketing have been around for a long time! Ultimately we'll never know for sure which is which, but it's always interesting to compare different styles' approaches. I'd love to see some of your style
Does Shaolin Tiger have a split kick? Like a jumping kick to two sides? How is something like that used? I'm asking because a watched a video saying that kata in Goju Ryu is designed to teach you how to deal with a single opponent at close range. Not, the multiple opponents theory that's often touted for forms. That seems a pretty practical position to take. But, I saw a video in which a Shaolin monk was doing a split kick or double kick...like a jumping double front kick but to the 45 on both sides ..if that makes sense. My question is, how would something like that be applied? Can you kick two people like that? Would they stay in one place long enough for you to hit them? This question is of particular interest to me because I practice ITF Taekwon-Do and we've no shortage of those kinds of kicks...but....I've started to doubt their utility. So, I'd like to know how a martial art that has similar techniques would utilise those techniques. Thanks for your great video and your time.
This kick does appear in Shaolin Tiger forms, but only in forms designed for performance. I've not come across any traditional forms that include this movement. Whilst performance forms can contain applications, they are more about looking cool! There are acrobatic moves within traditional Shaolin forms, such as jumping flick kicks and push kicks, and tornado kicks. These all have clear applications and are definitely useful against a single opponent. The jumps can add extra power, and they can be used from no jump through small jumps and into big jumps. You see this sort of thing appear in combat sports from time to time, though often standalone, not necessarily how they might be applied in Shaolin. The split kick I think is probably just for show. Realistically I don't think you'd ever have two people standing still long enough in exactly the right spot. Plus the move requires such a large range of motion that I doubt you would be able to get much power into it. If you did actually hit someone well, the landing would be tough too. Touching on the multiple opponents idea, I think the key thing to remember is that forms need to have structure to them that allows you to go from one move to another, and hopefully, not take up 200 hundred metres going in a straight line! Forms will have sequences of movements that go together, but the entire form doesn't have to be one sequence. So when you trun to face another direction, it's not necessarily another opponent, it's just serving the structure of the form, or possibly starting a new sequence where you are being attacked from a different direction. It could be used for a second attacker coming in, but it only really works if you've fully dispatched the first. Forms teach us mechanics and applications, but when it comes to fighting multiple people, that is mostly about space control, and of course practice! I hope that's useful. Let me know if you have any other questions.
What is your favourite animal style?
Remember if you want to learn more about getting explosive power, make sure you watch this video on foot work, so that you understand when and how to generate different kinds of power- ua-cam.com/video/jFui6Ocewpo/v-deo.html
mantis....obviously
unless there is a cockatoo or kookaburra style
Haha, well that's a given. I'm not sure there is, but you never know...
good stuff. That strike where you throw the hand and catch yourself is something Josh always used to use. We have a similar idea in Mantis which we call "half falling down step", and is often explained as the step of a drunkard
It is such a good movement. I often describe it as being like a fencers lunge
This is interesting but very different from the tiger style I practice and teach. With us it's all about using the weight of the animal. You never lead with the hand but drive your body forward with your hand moving last so it has the full weight of your body behind it. The movements are heavier using relaxed power and with no jumping kicks.
It's interesting how so many kung fu styles based themselves on copying the same animals yet look and feel so different.
It is very interesting how many different takes people have. They look at the same animal, one might be inspired by its power, another it's size, another it's ability to stalk its prey. All come away with something different.
I suspect that in a lot of cases a movement or principle came first, and someone came up with a memorable way to explain it, or garnished things with a little flair to make it seem more exciting! Both mnemonics and marketing have been around for a long time!
Ultimately we'll never know for sure which is which, but it's always interesting to compare different styles' approaches. I'd love to see some of your style
Does Shaolin Tiger have a split kick? Like a jumping kick to two sides? How is something like that used? I'm asking because a watched a video saying that kata in Goju Ryu is designed to teach you how to deal with a single opponent at close range. Not, the multiple opponents theory that's often touted for forms. That seems a pretty practical position to take. But, I saw a video in which a Shaolin monk was doing a split kick or double kick...like a jumping double front kick but to the 45 on both sides ..if that makes sense. My question is, how would something like that be applied? Can you kick two people like that? Would they stay in one place long enough for you to hit them? This question is of particular interest to me because I practice ITF Taekwon-Do and we've no shortage of those kinds of kicks...but....I've started to doubt their utility. So, I'd like to know how a martial art that has similar techniques would utilise those techniques. Thanks for your great video and your time.
This kick does appear in Shaolin Tiger forms, but only in forms designed for performance. I've not come across any traditional forms that include this movement. Whilst performance forms can contain applications, they are more about looking cool!
There are acrobatic moves within traditional Shaolin forms, such as jumping flick kicks and push kicks, and tornado kicks. These all have clear applications and are definitely useful against a single opponent. The jumps can add extra power, and they can be used from no jump through small jumps and into big jumps. You see this sort of thing appear in combat sports from time to time, though often standalone, not necessarily how they might be applied in Shaolin.
The split kick I think is probably just for show. Realistically I don't think you'd ever have two people standing still long enough in exactly the right spot. Plus the move requires such a large range of motion that I doubt you would be able to get much power into it. If you did actually hit someone well, the landing would be tough too.
Touching on the multiple opponents idea, I think the key thing to remember is that forms need to have structure to them that allows you to go from one move to another, and hopefully, not take up 200 hundred metres going in a straight line! Forms will have sequences of movements that go together, but the entire form doesn't have to be one sequence. So when you trun to face another direction, it's not necessarily another opponent, it's just serving the structure of the form, or possibly starting a new sequence where you are being attacked from a different direction. It could be used for a second attacker coming in, but it only really works if you've fully dispatched the first. Forms teach us mechanics and applications, but when it comes to fighting multiple people, that is mostly about space control, and of course practice!
I hope that's useful. Let me know if you have any other questions.