Just curious, but has anybody else heard of Elephant Style Kung Fu.
My Shifu who learned it from Master Doc-fai Wong teaches it, but I’ve only seen just a few references to it in the available literature.
I’d be really interested to know if anyone else is practicing this style.
Thanks,
John
Elepahnt Kung Fu
Let’s just say Vhina is a big big place and it is quite conceivable that on some occasions elephants may have wangered into China from India or Thailand. Some budding martial artist might have inveted a kung fu style out of the animal as it was a popular past time in those days.
There are lots of forms in Elephant Kung fu and like an elephant you must have a good memory for them all.
The first form is called the Baby Elephant Walk. Perhaps Doctor Wong can show you the Baby Elephant Walk
Well…yes and no.
Let me ask you a question which came first the animal or the technique?
In other words, which came first the chicken or the egg?
The way my Sifu has explained it to me is that the techniques developed first and then people named them after animals as a sort of “nickname.”
So in Choy Lay Fut (which is Doc Fai Wong’s style) you have a some long range, relaxed, swinging-type movements.( This is not indicative of the whole style which has a whole range of techniques.)
But somebody seeing these long range movements could say “Hey that looks like an Elephant’s trunk!!!” So they take all the long range movements, combine them together in a form and “Bam!!!” you’ve got “Elephant Style.”
But I definitely wouldn’t say that these movements were created by watching an elephant. The long range techniques in CLF come primarily from it’s Northern influence. And I can guarantee you that there aren’t too many elephants in Northern China (aside from Woolly Mammoths that is!!!
).
I think this is how many of the “animal” styles developed. The techniques were there first and then people gave them “nicknames.”
So I’m a little bit skeptical of animal styles where it looks a little too much like an animal itself.
For example, if in the elephant form the foot work was real slow and plodding like an elephant that probably wouldn’t work for fighting and would be inconsistent with the rest of CLF, even though it might look more like an elephant!!!
Peace
Agree with Fu Pow.
I study Eagle Claw… the name came afterward. Ngok Fei didn’t study an eagle and copy its moves. He just came up with (or somebody did) a catchy name that was somewhat descriptive of the styles techniques. (It’s all in the marketing, man.)
Elephant style was named (so I’ve read) due to it’s simple, solid, rooted, centered footwork and almost total reliance on hand techniques.
Deng Meng-Dao on Elephant Style
The following passage was excerpted from pages 275-277, Chronicles Of Tao, by Deng Ming-Dao. It describes an encounter between Kwan Saihung’s (Deng Ming-Dao’s master) teacher Wang Ziping and an Elephant Style Master:
Wang also sometimes lost these impromptu fights. When the gatekeeper announced the entrance of a challenger, all the students expected a quick resolution. But this time, when Wang Ziping looked up and saw a wiry man about seventy years old, he paused. Saihung stole a look at his master. Wang could size a man up at a glance. This one had skill.
The stranger was tall and quite thin. His white hair was cut into a severe crew cut, and he had a long beard, the symbol of a elder. He evidently spent a great deal of time outdoors, for his skin was as brown as teakwood. Saihung noticed that his arms were rather long, and his fingers were slender but flexible. Wang Ziping was a heavyweight. The man was like a stick figure before him.
“I know your reputation,” began the stranger politely. He held his clasped hands gently before him in the gesture of respect. “I do not believe in isolating myself in a mountain retreat. I believe in testing myself against other skilled people. If I win, then know that old age has not yet bested me. If I lose, then I know the weak points that I must still correct.”
“I have heard of men like you,” responded Wang. “You are interested only in the pinnacle of skill.”
“My abilities are quite poor. I am not here to bring shame on your school, and I would understand entirely if you were to den your school, ana l would understand entirely ir you were to deny me. But I would only like to see if I have made any progress in my practices. Would you please oblige me?”
Wang could not refuse such a request. His honor was at stake.
They began to circle each other warily. Neither made flamboyant moves. There were no fancy postures, no talking, no tricks. Just two old men who were fighting to see who the better was. They were two dedicated martial artists who would, if nothing else, uphold the dignity of the challenge and themselves.
From the very first clash, Saihung could see that his teacher was at a disadvantage. Blows that would have felled a horse were easily dodged or received by blocking forearms. The stranger’s posture was low; his stance was strong. Saihung could see that he was using the Elephant style.
The main feature of the style was to use the hands like trunk of an elephant. This meant that the arms were very flexible and came at a variety of unusual angles. Whereas other styles might use open hands, chops, or jabs with the fingers, stranger relied primarily on his closed fists. The Elephant emphasized the Eight-Cornered Meteor. Instead of a simple punch, the style singled out every angle of the fist as worthy points of contact. Overhand raps with the knuckles, pounding attacks with the base of the fist, roundhouse swings with the thumb side, and use of different angles of the face of the fist were some of the variations.
The stranger hit Wang repeatedly, hard enough to make booming sounds but not enough to injure him. A man with Wang’s reputation was expected to be able to withstand some punishment. Saihung also saw that the man touched lethal spots, places that were used to kill. If Saihung could see it, he knew also that Wang Ziping could feel that he was being spared at every turn. The itinerant master was satisfied with demonstrating his abilities and control; he was not intent on hurting his adversary.
They fought in fifteen-minute rounds. Wang was tiring. He had already lost his Moslem cap in the struggle, and it was one of the few times that Saihung had seen him out of breath and sweating. The older man was not even breathing hard. He only went to an unoccupied side of the gymnasium to wait courteously for the next round. Wang Ziping tried every technique that he knew, including secrets that he had never taught his students. He still could not best his challenger. In all, they fought four rounds for a bout that lasted over an hour. It was the challenger who stopped the contest.
“Thank you for indulging me,” said the man politely at the end of the final round. “You were too kind in letting me off.”
“No, no. It is I who must thank you,” responded Wang breathlessly. It was the only time in his life that Saihung had ever heard his teacher thank an opponent.
The man came close to Wang as he strode out of the school. “You should continue to teach. You are still good enough to do that.”
Saihung had pondered the man’s vast superiority. Totally anonymous, without career or students, the old man cared only for his art. Yet nothing about his persona hinted at his attainment. True, he had a better posture than most men his age, and he walked in a way that was more vigorous than even young men, but nothing else hinted that he was so great. That was why, Saihung thought, one should not boast or demonstrate: There will always be someone unrecognized who will best the arrogant.
johnmcole
WOW what a great story!
I really enjoyed that, thanks heaps for posting it. I had always thought of Wang Zi Pang as being pretty much unbeatable.
I loved this comment in particular.
“There will always be someone unrecognized who will best the arrogant.”
Thats great hehe you just made my morning:D
THE CHOY LAY FUT’S ELEPHANT FORM
INSIDE CHOY LAY FUT STYLE THERE IS A FORM CALLED MENG JEONG KUEN ( ELEPHANT FIST OR BOXING ) . THE FORM HAVE 72 MOVEMENTS AND IS TEACHING IN THE DOC FAI WONG SCHOOLS . GRANDMASTER LAU BUN TEACH THE FORM TO MASTER WONG AND BELONG TO THE FUT SAN HUNG SING BRANCH .
RAIN don’t write in mayusculas es molesto para leer :).
I think that the elephant form of CLF belongs to all the branchs, I´ve heard that fit big people.
I’m also really interested to hear from any Elephant Style practioners, and if possible to compare notes on training in this style.
At our school, the primary focus is on performing the form itself. We practice it repeatedly, study the individual forms and moves, and then try and apply it in Chi Saw practice.
I’m wondering if others practice in this way, and if other related methods of training exist for Elephant Style. For instance, Elephant Chi Gong or other exercises, stretching, etc.
John
Elephant Style Kung-Fu?
Does anyone know anything about this style?
http://www.taichiherb.com/index.php?fuseaction=martialarts.elephantkungfu
Is it real? (no offense intended, as I know many masters have made their own styles that are effective in their own ways…i’m just curious if this has a verifiable lineage behind it)
thanks
123
His teach is Doc Fai Wong. Or so he says. He probably just leared some gwa choy’ sow choys’ and blocking techniques from CLF and now he uses those as ELEPHANT STYLE
There is an elephant form in the choy lay fut system. and since doc fai wong is a choy lay fut instructor he might have just taught him the form. It is possible that whoever wrote the article might have incorrectly implied that it was a style in itself.
People will often refer to an animal form within a system as “Tiger Style” or “Crane Style”, or whichever animal it is. I’ve heard Choy Lay Fut and Hung Gar practitioners refer to their arts as having the 5 animal “Styles”, so it’s not unusual.
Re: Elephant Boxing
In Choy Lee Fut of Lau Bun family which Doc fai Wong is a member, there is the Mon Jong Kuen, which we know as "Ten Thousand Elewphants Boxing, this is the pride and joy of Lau Bun’s Hung Sing Choy Lee Fut system in so much that it’s not even spoken about. This kung fu is reserved for students who have paid there dues and are in good standing within the family. Not all from Lau Bun’s family know this set because it’s not freely given out. It is however very powerful and takes choy lee fut fighting into a different arena unlike that of it’s standard sets. Also note the late Master Lee Koon Hung also referred to some of his techniques as “elephant” so the technique itself isn’t secretive however his skills were unique to his methods so aas Lau Bun’s techniques were unique to his methods. I recall my Sifu Dino Salvatera telling me that it took him over 20 years to learn this skill even though the boxing skills of Lau Bun"s Choy Lee Fut is not that vast, this just goes to show how that the teacher pays attention to the students dedication, temperance, etc, when teaching this skill.
Hmmmm. . . . .
So does Doc Fai Wong have any videos or books on this “Elephant” style???
It’ll be cool, I’m always interested to learn new CLF forms (if nothing but to gain a few new good combos and attack patterns).
Thanks for the info Troy. It makes me wonder, if Lau Bun kept it as such a sacred secret, that he only taught the exceptional students, why DFW taught it to this guy (who doesn’t seem to have a background in CLF), and why this guy is openly teaching it to the public who have no real foundation in CLF?
For example, my Sifu would never just teach someone the Crane Form of our lineage. You really do need a solid background of CLF before you can do this form correctly.
Again, I’m just posing the question, no disrespect intended.
123
Who’s to say that elephant form Doc Fai Wong taught this guy is from the Lau Bun lineage. As Sifu Dunwood says its an advanced form and should not be taught lightly. Sifu DFW has gathered forms from many teachers such as Wong Gong, The elephant form might of came from there, and may be different from Lau Bun’s version.
The guy who wrote the article has one. It’s listed in the left hand columb near the bottom.
I beleive that the elephant form that Doc Fai Wong teaches is from Wong Gong.
If anyone has seen it, do you think it’s worth 50 bucks for a video? Or does it contain all the normal CLF techniques, just ordered differently?
$50 is alot of cash for 1 video.
I think I will ask my Sifu, Mak Hin Fai if he knows about the elephant style.
Oh well, at least we have Fu-Pao (Tiger-Leopard)