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
cheers
5 animals forms
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
shaolin 5 animals
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.
5 Animals in Bak Mei
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.
[b]
Xian Ren Zhi Dian Long She He
(Immortals instructs the Dragon, Serpent, and Crane)
Shi Fu Zhen Chuan Hu Bao Xing
(Teachers transmits the Tiger and the leopard forms)
[/b]
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” - the perceptive spirit in the form of vital energy. Let your opponent feel the grandeur of your presence.
Serpent is venomous in its “Xin” 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” 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” 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” 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:
-
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.
-
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
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
Hi Roelof,
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
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.
what’s the history of bak mei, and also does anyone know what the story was between shaolin and bak mei?
History of Bak Mei:
A great master Cheung Laichun studied various Dongjiang region arts and developed Bakmeipai. The name and the shaolin connection is derived from a lovely novel on which many Shaw brothers films were also based.
Regards
Wu Chanlong
In heard somewhere that bak mei was considered a black art or somethin by shaolin, and that bak mei was in on some type of betrayal. is there any truth to that or is that part of a story. I also heard that his name is not to be spoken at shaolin, it all sounds like somethin from a movie, but still a good story, whether fact or fiction i’d still love to read it. any info?
Bak Mei- Five Elders Legend
Taken from a book I own: Sometime in the early 18th century, the Fukien temple was betrayed by a senior monk, Ma Yee Yuk (or Ma Ning Yee), also known as ‘Bak Mei’( or White Eyebrow). As legend tells it, Ng Mui, Gee Sin, Mew Hing, Hung Si-kwan, and Fung To-tuk all escaped and dispersed to spread their arts in safety.
Apparently, Bak Mei was deeply interested in the Taoist quest for immortality, and betrayed the Shaolin Temple to aid the Manchu Imperials, and was rewarded with access to knowledge and worldly control over other Taoists. Since certain Taoist societies (or so I’ve read) were known to give their leaders symbolic names, it is opssible that Bak Mei was later assumed as a title. That is why the name Bak Mei actually appears in many different spots in the timeline.
So basically, Bak Mei was the original Darth Vader. I got that information from the Shaolin Gradmaster’s Text, so think what you will of it.
Thanx a milloin HF, no one would ever talk about that like it was the plague or something. Finally somebody that will speak.
No, it is so convoluted that people hate speaking about it at all.
Notice you keyed in on the more confrontatinal story, as opposed to the earlier one.
Oh, on the story from the text you might want to read this post.
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showpost.php?p=593400&postcount=142
Northern shao lin as taught in or near songshan hasn’t kept much of the “animals” at all, and concentrates more on later longfist elements (tan-tui, mui-fa, cha-quan, etc). With the exception perhaps of northern mantis or eagle-claw schools which are essentially lay-person styles derived from temple boxing.
Many of the southern shaolin systems however, have kept animals within their curriculum, especially the 5 family styles (also lay-person styles) Hung Ga, Choy Ga, Mok Ga, Lau Ga, and Li Ga.
I would suggest taking a good look at Hung Gar (also known as Hung Ga, Hung Ga Kuen, or just Hung Kuen) as it is the most widely taught actual “5-animal” style today. Try looking at this board’s southern kung-fu thread, or google it up - there’s plenty of material available.
cheers,
hey does david cliff still run that school?
WTF!!!